Nothing Lasts Forever
by MadamoiselleMidnight
Summary: Before the school year even begins, Harry Potter makes a new friend – a rather unusual dog. At Hogwarts, trouble always seems to be just around the corner for Harry and his dog. Eventually a devastating betrayal reveals some shocking truths. Trust is a fragile thing, and unfortunately for Harry, his trust in someone is about to be broken.
1. Found in the Darkness

**Summary:**

Before the school year even begins, Harry Potter makes a new friend – a rather unusual dog. As Harry's third year at Hogwarts progresses, trouble always seems to be just around the corner.

An Azkaban escapee, chilling Dementors, and the annoyance that is Malfoy all seem like big issues until Harry finds out that his dog is in even bigger trouble than Harry could've possibly imagined. It's going to take everything Harry has to save his new companion! But when a devastating betrayal reveals some shocking truths, will Harry even want to help his new friend?

Trust is a fragile thing, and unfortunately for Harry, his trust in someone is about to be broken.

* * *

 **Chapter One:** ** _Found in the Darkness_**

Despite the chill of the late August air making it a good night to stay indoors, a dark silhouette could be seen darting from street to street and shadow to shadow.

The figure dashed through an alley and ended up behind a row of houses. A bit of moonlight revealed the figure to be a large dog. Pausing behind the first house, the dog raised its nose and sniffed the air. Two haunted eyes surveyed the area before the dog slowly made its way towards the second house in the row.

After checking to see if the coast was clear, the dog scampered passed the second house and stopped at the third. The dog crept up to two large trash bins and, standing on its hindquarters, knocked over one of the bins. It crashed to the ground with a resounding bang.

Startled by the loud noise, the dog backed away with its ears down and tail between its legs. After a few moments of silence, the dog moved forward and sniffed at the contents of the spilled bin. The dog used its nose to move a few bits of trash out of the way to reveal some partially rotted food and began to eat. A light came on in the house behind the dog, but since it was busy filling its empty stomach, the dog paid no heed to the source of the light.

The back door of the house suddenly opened and the dog stopped eating as it lowered itself to the ground. Teeth bared and ears back, the dog watched as two humans appeared. One was wielding a fire poker and the other was cowering behind the doorframe.

"There's nothing out here. You're just hearing things again, Martha," the man said as he lowered the fire poker.

"I swear I heard something," replied the woman, loosening her grip on the doorframe.

"Quit watching horror films. I'm going back to bed."

The man turned to leave, but at that moment, the woman spotted the dog crouched over the spilled contents of one of the trash bins.

"There!" she shrieked, pointing in the direction of the dog.

The man swung the fire poker back up and looked at where she was pointing. Seeing the animal, the man heaved a sigh and started stomping towards the trash bins.

Realizing that it was no longer safe to stay, the dog tensed in preparation for a quick getaway.

"Go on! Scat! Shoo, ya mangy mutt!" the man yelled as he swung the fire poker around, trying to scare the dog off.

The large dog ran from the house and the man. After running for a few minutes, the dog slowed to a stop behind a tree at the corner of a street. It crouched down low as it saw a car approaching. Once the car passed, the dog got back on its paws and darted across the street, taking cover behind some bushes.

 _'He lives around here somewhere... At least I think he does. Or did,'_ the dog thought as it looked around the street.

After weaving in and out of the bushes as it trotted down the sidewalk, the large dog decided to settle down under a bush to rest its paws.

 _'I guess I'll just take a short break for a minute or two. It'll probably help me remember where he is.'_

Resting its head on its front paws, the canine closed its eyes.

 _'Maybe I'll take a small nap. Just for a few minutes. Then I'll check in on him and make sure he's okay. After that, there'll be nothing to stop me from hunting down that rat bastard.'_

 _..._

In hindsight, this may not have been his best idea.

Harry Potter was currently walking as fast as he could away from the Dursleys, dragging his trunk behind him and carefully holding Hedwig's cage under his arm. After he made it a few blocks from Number Four Privet Drive, Harry let Hedwig out of her cage and asked her to find him later that night. He didn't want to jostle her about while he tried to figure out what to do next.

It all started when Uncle Vernon came back to the Dursley residence with Aunt Marge. The harsh words that Aunt Marge said to him angered and annoyed Harry, but he was able to keep his temper under wraps mostly because he avoided Aunt Marge and her mutt like they were the plague.

The only thing getting Harry through the visit from Aunt Marge was thinking about Hogsmeade. He needed to have Uncle Vernon sign his permission slip. And for Uncle Vernon to do that, Harry had to 'behave himself' during Aunt Marge's visit. Whenever Aunt Marge would happen across Harry, he would try to tune out what she was saying and try to recall passages from his _Quidditch through the Ages_ book. It worked almost every time. But, unfortunately, one slip up was all it took.

At dinner that night, Harry had been unable to completely ignore what Aunt Marge was saying as he cleaned up in the kitchen. Once Aunt Marge started commenting on his parents, it was only a matter of time before he blew up at her. Or rather, before he made her blow up. Like a balloon.

Which brings Harry to where he is now.

Walking by a park with no clue where to go next or how to get there.

 _'Fantastic. Now what do I do?'_ Harry thought to himself.

Stopping where he stood, Harry set his trunk down on the curb and sat on it. Harry sighed as gently dropped Hedwig's cage next on the ground to him.

"Well, I guess I won't be going to Hogsmeade this year since there's no way Uncle Vernon will sign the permission form now," Harry muttered under his breath.

As Harry looked around the area, he saw that that the park behind him was completely deserted and that there was no traffic on the road in front of him.

 _'Maybe I could head to the Burrow. It'd be nice to see Ron and his family again... Or I guess I could go to the Leaky Cauldron.'_

Rubbing his hands up and down his arms to fight against the chill in the air, Harry sighed.

 _'But how would I get there? Fly? That wouldn't work. I could see if I could catch a ride to London to get to the Leaky Cauldron, but all I have on me are Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons. And I don't think that any Muggle would accept those coins as payment.'_

A snapping sound pulled Harry from his musings. Grabbing his wand and jumping to his feet, Harry scanned his surroundings.

Since he couldn't see anything moving around him, Harry dismissed the noise and sat back down on his trunk. As Harry sat down, he looked across the street directly in front of him.

Something in the bushes caught his eye, so as Harry stared at the bushes, a pair of eyes in the bushes stared back at Harry.

...

The dog was dozing when it was startled awake by the sound of footsteps and something being rolled. Staying low to the ground in a crouched position, the dog slowly inched its way towards the edge of the bush facing the street.

There was a boy sitting down on the curb on the opposite side of the street. The boy appeared to have said something, but the dog couldn't hear what the boy had said. Curious, the dog slowly moved forwards until its head was almost completely out of the bushes, but still somewhat covered.

One of its front paws pressed down on a stick, making a cracking noise, which, to the dog at least, sounded like a gunshot going off in the silent night. Hunkering back down into the bush, the dog stayed as still as possible.

It watched the boy stand up and look around with a stick in his hand.

 _'A stick? No… a wand? Is he a –'_

The boy sat back down only to look directly at the dog.

Eyes locked with the boy, the dog froze as the boy slowly stood back up.

...

Keeping his eyes on the bushes across the street, Harry got back up.

 _'This is stupid. This is so stupid,'_ Harry thought as he looked both ways before starting to walk across the street towards the bushes.

 _'It's nothing. It's obviously nothing. Just an animal. A cat, maybe. Definitely not someone from the Ministry here to arrest me for underage magic or to drag me back to the Dursleys. That would be stupid. I'm being stupid. A wizard wouldn't be hiding in the bushes. That'd be ridiculous,'_ Harry thought, perhaps a bit hysterically.

Harry made it across the street and stopped at the curb because the bush was now growling at him.

' _Okay. Maybe it's not a cat.'_

Since he had his wand in his right hand, Harry slowly crouched down with his left hand extended palm up towards the bushes. The growling noise stopped for a moment before returning at an even high volume.

 _'I'm going to get my hand bitten off. Why am I doing this?'_

Harry stayed still and kept his left hand out towards the bushes.

"Hey there. I'm not going to hurt you," Harry called out softly.

The growling continued for a moment longer before it stopped and the bush started moving as whatever it was that was in the bush slowly poked its head out of the bushes, keeping its eyes on Harry.

 _'That is a dog. That is a really big dog.'_

"Hey little guy. I won't hurt you."

 _'Yup, I'm definitely going to get my hand bitten off by this large dog-wolf hybrid thing.'_

"Come on out. I'm not going to hurt you," Harry said.

Maybe the dog understood him or maybe it just liked the sound of Harry's voice, but whatever it was, the dog was now coming out of the bushes.

 _'Whoa! It must be a stray. Poor thing.'_

The dog was large with dirty, matted fur. It was hard to tell if the dog's fur was black or just a dark color. The dog also appeared to be starving as its skin was stretched thin over its ribs. Its grey eyes were steady as it continued to stare at Harry. The dog's teeth were bared and its ears were flat against its head, showing the dog's displeasure with the situation.

Trying to show the dog that he meant no harm, Harry continued to not move as he spoke softly, "Hey, look at you pretty boy. Come here. It's okay. I won't hurt you."

 _'Even though it looks like you might end up hurting me by taking a bite out of my hand or something. Why am I doing this again?'_

"It looks like you're all alone out here. I'm all by myself too."

The dog took a few more steps closer to Harry.

"Although that is kinda my fault. I did run away. But there was no way I was going to stick around the Dursleys after my latest bout of magic," Harry said, trying to sound upbeat to continue to encourage the dog to come a bit closer.

Suddenly the dog leapt forward so that it was almost nose to nose with Harry. Startled, Harry yelped as he fell backwards, his right hand flying up and his left hand shooting back to catch himself.

Sitting on the sidewalk with a sore butt, his left hand behind him and his right hand with his wand stuck up in the air, Harry found himself with a wet cheek. The dog had just licked Harry's face from his chin to his forehead.

"Ugh!" Harry exclaimed. "What'd you do that for?"

As he was moving his left hand to wipe off the dog slobber, a loud bang sounded on the road next to Harry. The dog shot back off into the bushes. Harry looked up and saw a purple, triple-decker bus.

"Uhh… what?"

...

The boy, no, the maybe-wizard was crossing the street and heading right towards the dog.

 _'Stay away. Get back. I don't have time for this,'_ the dog thought as it began to growl.

The might-be-a-wizard stopped on the curb before crouching and holding out a hand in the dog's direction. The dog bared its teeth and began to growl louder.

"Hey there. I'm not going to hurt you," the maybe-wizard said.

Cocking its head to the side as it stopped growling, the dog considered what the wizard-boy said before dismissing the words.

' _Kid, trust me, you don't want to get involved with me and my mess. Just back off and go on home. Maybe if you get a good look at me, you'll turn tail and run.'_

The dog nosed its way out of the bush until its head was fully uncovered.

"Hey little guy. I won't hurt you," the boy cooed.

 _'Are you crazy, kid?! I am not little. I am a vicious-looking dog.'_

"Come on out. I'm not going to hurt you," the boy said.

 _'Fine. I'll come out. You'll try to pet me. I'll snap my teeth at you. You'll run screaming in fear. And we'll part ways as if this never happened. Crazy kid.'_

The dog carefully stepped out of the bush, but kept its distance from the boy.

 _'I'm insane for coming out of the bushes and you're insane for wanting me to.'_

"Hey, look at you pretty boy. Come here. It's okay. I won't hurt you."

 _'Pretty?! I think you need to get your eyes checked.'_

"It looks like you're all alone out here. I'm all by myself too."

 _'…Fine. You might've won a few sympathy points from me so I'll let you pet me. If you really want to. But then I'm outta here!'_ the dog thought as it padded closer to the boy.

"Although that is kinda my fault. I did run away. But there was no way I was going to stick around the Dursleys after my latest bout of magic," the boy said.

 _'Hold it – DURSLEYS?! As in Lily's rotten sister Petunia Dursley?!'_

Taking a closer look at the boy, the dog noticed the dark, messy hair, the round glasses, and the vivid green eyes.

 _'It can't be!'_

The dog sprang forwards, intending to get as close to the boy as possible. The boy fell back as the dog got closer to his face.

 _'It is! I can't believe it! I was looking for you! I was going to check on you and here you are. You found me!'_

Unable to help itself in its excitement, the dog licked the boy's face as it wagged its tail.

 _'Harry!'_

The dog sat down as Harry made a face.

"Ugh!" Harry exclaimed. "What'd you do that for?"

All of a sudden, a loud bang sounded as the Knight Bus appeared. Startled, the dog dove for the bushes as Harry peered up at the bus in confusion.

...

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch and wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you'd like to go. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be –"

The man, Stan, paused his speech when he realized that Harry was on the ground.

"What choo doin' on the ground for?" Stan asked.

"I fell."

"Well, what choo do that for?" Stan asked.

"It wasn't intentional," Harry said, getting back on his feet. "Why is the bus so loud and… purple? Won't it call attention to the bus and make Muggles come and investigate it?"

"Muggles. They don' listen properly nor see properly, do they? They don' never notice nuffin'."

"…I guess."

"Well, you comin' on, ain'tcha? We can't wait 'round all night," Stan said before looking over his shoulder. "Ain't that right, Ern."

"Where does this bus go? And why did you stop here?" Harry questioned as he discreetly look over towards the bushes where the dog had disappeared.

"What d'ya mean 'why did we stop 'ere'?' You're the one who called us. And this 'ere bus goes almost anywhere you can think of," replied Stan. "'Cept for underwater."

Squinting at Harry, Stan asked, "What choo lookin' for?"

Harry, no longer trying to be discreet with his glances, had turned towards the bushes.

"There was a, well. Umm. My-my dog," Harry stuttered. "The bus startled my dog. It ran into the bushes."

"Why d'ya –"

"Look, you said this bus can go anywhere. Can you take me to London? To the Leaky Cauldron?" Harry asked, interrupting Stan's question.

"'Course we can!"

"I have to get my trunk and owl cage. They're over there," Harry stated as he pointed over at his trunk and Hedwig's cage on the other side of the road.

"What's it doin' all the way over there when you is standin' right 'ere?" asked Stan.

Making a decision, Harry ignored Stan's question and asked, "My dog can come on the Knight Bus too, right?"

"Is it trained? Cuz we can't be 'avin' unruly animals runnin' amuck an' terrorizin' the customers."

"Yes?" Harry said uncertainly before clearing his throat and saying, "Yes. He won't bother anyone."

 _'I hope.'_

"Okay, then, get your dog and –"

"The bus scared him into the bushes. I'll have to coax him back out."

"Well 'urry up! We 'aven't got all night. We've places to be!" Stan said. "You get choo dog and I'll grab ya trunk for ya."

Turning on his heel, Harry walked over to the bushes and crouched down as Stan dashed across the street to grab Harry's possessions.

 _'Please still be here. I might be a bit crazy for wanting to take a large stray dog with me, but I can't just leave him all alone out here. It'll start to get really cold soon and I don't want to leave him in the streets with nothing to eat either. If I take him with me, maybe I can help him.'_

"Hey boy." _'At least I think you're a male dog.'_ "Are you still here?" Harry asked softly.

There was a bit of movement before the dog stuck its head out of the bushes and 'woofed' in Harry's face, making Harry smile.

"Hey there, would you like to come with me? I'm all alone and you're all alone. Maybe we could help take care of each other? Would you like that?"

The dog slowly came out of the bushes as Harry got up and stepped back a few paces. Shaking out its matted fur, the dog 'woofed' again and padded up to Harry.

Harry reached down and gently petted the dog's head as it rubbed up against Harry's legs.

"Are you coming aboard or not?" Stan asked.

"I'm coming," Harry said before addressing the dog. "Come on, boy. Let's go!"

The dog cautiously followed behind Harry as they walked into the Knight Bus.

Catching site of the dog, Stan jumped back and exclaimed, "Bloody 'ell! That's a Grim, that is! Death omen's what 'e is. We don't be takin' Grims on this bus!"

"He's not a Grim!" Harry protested.

 _'What the hell's a Grim? And what does he mean by death omen?'_

Harry looked behind him at the dog.

Thinking quickly, Harry said, "He's been a part of my family for years! He is not a Grim. He's just a large dog."

"…You sure?" asked Stan, warily staring at the dog. "'e's not lookin' too good."

"Positive," Harry assured him as he and the dog walked passed Stan and further into the bus.

Stan had already placed Harry's possessions on one of the beds, so Harry sat down beside his trunk as the dog hopped up on the bed and draped itself across Harry's legs.

"You're heavy," Harry quietly complained to the dog.

In response, the dog made a snuffling sound that almost sounded like laughter. Harry used one hand to scratch the dog behind its ears.

Stan turned to Harry and asked, "Well, what choo name, anyways?"

"Oh, well, I'm…"

 _'I definitely can't tell him my real name. Not if the Ministry might be looking for me because of my bout of magic against Aunt Marge'_

"…Neville. I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Well, Neville, it'll be eleven sickles ta getcha to London."

Once Harry paid Stan, Stan turned to the driver and said, "Take'er away, Ern."

After the initial bang of the Knight Bus taking off into the night sounded, Stan shook out a copy of the Daily Prophet. From where Harry was sitting, he could see a large photo of a crazed and emancipated-looking man with long matted hair staring out at Harry from the front page. Harry thought he recognized him.

After a few moments, it dawned on him.

"That man!" Harry called out to Stan. "He was on the Muggle news!"

Stan turned back to the front page of the paper and, seeing the picture, he chuckled.

"That's Sirius Black. 'Course 'e was on the Muggle news, Neville. Where you been hidin'? Under a rock?"

Chuckling again at the blank expression on Harry's face, Stan grabbed the front page and handed it to Harry.

"Ya need ta catch up wiv the times more. 'ere, read this, Neville."

Harry held the paper up to the light and read:

 ** _BLACK STILL AT LARGE_**

 _Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous person to ever be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today._

 _"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."_

 _Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis._

 _"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it – who'd believe him if he did?"_

 _While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse._

Glancing back up at Stan, Harry handed back the front page and said, "He killed _thirteen people_ with _one_ _curse?!_ "

"Yeah," Stan said. "Scary-lookin' fing, inee? And 'e did it in broad daylight in front of witnesses. Caused big trouble, didn't Ern?"

"Ahh," Ern affirmed darkly.

"Black's a big supporter of You-Know-'Oo," Stan continued.

"Voldemort?" Harry questioned unthinkingly.

Stan's entire face went white and Ern jerked the wheel so hard that an entire house had to leap out of the way of the bus.

"You crazy or somefing?!" Stan said with his hand on his heart. "What choo sayin' 'is name for?"

"Sorry! So sorry. I just – I just forgot," Harry stuttered.

"Forgot!" Stan yelped. "'Bout gave me a 'eart attack 'n' you 'forgot'."

"So he, er, Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who," Harry prompted.

"Yeah, very close to You-Know-'Oo, they say. I 'eard 'e was You-Know-'Oo's second-in-command. Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full o' Muggles and Black took out 'is wand and blew the street and some o' the Muggles to bits. So the wizards still 'ad Black cornered and you know what 'e did then?" Stan asked.

"What?"

"Laughed. Just stood there and laughed," Stan said. "And when they went to take 'im to the Ministry, Black just went wiv 'em. Still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'E's mad."

"He'll be even madder after spending time in Azkaban," Ern interjected darkly.

"There's never been a breakout from Azkaban before," Stan said. "But the guards'll find and deal wiv Black just fine."

"Talk about something else now, Stan," Ern said. "All this Azkaban talk is given me the collywobbles."

Moodily, Stan put away the paper and turned away from Harry.

Looking down at the dog in his lap, Harry realized that during his conversation with Stan, the dog had stayed oddly quiet and very still. Perhaps the bus ride was making the dog nervous.

...

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_** Once upon a time, I decided to write a story and upload it to this site. Unfortunately, I did something stupid and didn't backup the document that had much of the story (and notes for the story) written. My hard drive crashed and I lost everything I did on the story - I got discouraged and since I was starting up classes as a freshman in college, suddenly I didn't have the time to devote to writing more on the story I had lost. I got a new (more professional) email address and continued on as if I never wrote any fanfiction.

Years passed and I graduated college. In my reminiscing about my life before and during college, I (for some odd reason) decided to check out my old email addresses (yes, plural - I had some really weird email address names) and I found reviews for the story I had once written. Encouraged once again (and also bored - I'm living with my and still looking for career-type employment – but hopefully I'll have the opportunity to move out soon), I decided to see if I still had it in me to write some Harry Potter fanfiction. Somewhat embarrassed by the way my story had been written, I decided to scrap it completely and rewrite the whole thing - taking bits and pieces from what I'd written before, but changing the overall tone and writing style of the story. (And yes, this is a rewrite of _See Who I Am)_

I was going to wait to publish any of this until I had finished writing the entire story, but as I was writing, I kept having second thoughts about the actually putting this story out there (I'm not so confident with my writing style – I studied Communications, not English, not Writing, and not Literature – and let's just say I wasn't too hot in my compulsory English class). But I decide to go ahead and publish the first chapter now so that I couldn't back out of it later. I've already got over 23,000 words written for this story and I'm still writing on a semi-regular basis.

I will update this story slowly to allow myself time to proofread over the chapters I've already written and also to allow me to have a few chapters pre-written so that if "life happens", I'll still be able to update this story on a fairly regular basis. (And, so far, I plan to upload a chapter every week – though depending on how fast I can write, it might end up changing to every other week)

Also, while I'll try to, for the most part, stick to canon events, there will be differences between what actually happened in the Prisoner of Azkaban book/movie and what happens in this fic (mainly because it's been a while since I actually read the third book and watched the movie – so while I remember most of what occurred, I have forgotten some stuff and I'm not all that keen on looking up the specifics – just general instances or events). And as this story progresses, the changes that have happened (as opposed to what happened in canon) will ultimately lead this story away from some major canon events.

Any mistakes, grammar or otherwise, are my own. Let me know if you see anything that you think needs to be corrected.


	2. Welcome to Diagon Alley

**Chapter Two:** ** _Welcome to Diagon Alley_**

Harry walked into the Leaky Cauldron after getting off of the Knight Bus. Quickly walking past a man in a pinstriped suit and a bowler hat who appeared to be looking for someone – _'Was that Minister Fudge?'_ – Harry took off his glasses and moved a hand though his hair to make sure that it drooped down over his forehead and was covering his scar. He kept his head angled down as he walked towards Tom at the bar.

Harry was glad that the Leaky Cauldron didn't have very many patrons that night since he kept accidentally bumping into chairs as he walked through the room. The dog was dutifully following behind him as Harry shuffled his way across the floor, dragging his trunk and owl cage to the left of him.

Tom was standing behind the bar cleaning out a glass with a wet rag. When he noticed Harry coming to a stop in front of the bar, Tom glanced up and asked, "Can I help you?"

"I need a room for me and my dog," Harry responded, making sure to look down at the bar and not at Tom. Harry hoped that if he avoided eye contact and didn't face anyone head on, he'd be able to keep from being recognized. The dog was quietly sitting at Harry's feet shifting its head back and forth as it looked around at the surroundings.

Looking over the bar and down at the dog, Tom's eye's widened at the size of the dog.

"Your dog is… big." Tom said hesitantly.

"Yes. Will that be a problem?" asked Harry, sounding worried. _'I hope not. I don't know where else I could go at the moment.'_

"No. Not a problem. You'll just have to pay a little extra for the room in case the dog causes any damage," replied Tom as he set down the rag and the glass he'd been cleaning on the bar. Tom turned to small cupboard on a sidewall behind the bar and opened it, revealing a bunch of hanging keys and a few empty hooks. Grabbing a key, Tom closed the cupboard door, looked back over at Harry, and said, "Follow me."

As Tom walked out from behind the bar and over to the stairs, Harry put his glasses back on so he could see where he was going. It would be embarrassing (and most likely painful) if he somehow managed to fall down the stairs because he couldn't see where he was stepping.

Harry started walking and patted his free hand against the side of his leg, calling for the dog to follow him, "Come on, boy!"

Harry and the dog walked behind Tom to one of the rooms. When Tom unlocked and opened the door, Harry's first thought about the room that he'd been given was that it was a bit bigger than his room at Privet Drive. It would be able to comfortably fit him and his large dog for however long they decided to stay at the Leaky Cauldron.

There was a three-panel window with a window seat on the far side of the room. A bed was on the right side of the room next to a door leading to a small bathroom. On the left side of the room, directly opposite of the bed, there was a wooden desk and chair.

Harry set his trunk down on the bed and Hedwig's cage on the floor before opening his trunk and asking Tom how much it would be to rent the room for a few nights. Once Tom told Harry the price, Harry retrieved the necessary amount of money to pay for the room.

It was already getting late and Harry was tired, physically and emotionally, so when he went to pay Tom for the room, Harry temporarily forgot about not wanting to fully face anyone just in case someone recognized him.

So it was understandable that, when Harry went to hand over the correct amount of coins for his room, rather than looking down, Harry looked straight at Tom.

"Harry Potter!" gasped Tom, ignoring Harry's outstretched hand with the payment for the room. "I thought you looked familiar!"

Cursing himself for lifting his head and being recognized, Harry said, "Yeah, that's me. I was kind of hoping not to be noticed because people seem to make a big deal about me being… you know, the Boy-Who-Lived and whatnot… and I just wanted a quiet night after my journey here."

 _'Not to mention that I recently inflated someone with magic, which is most likely very illegal, so I'm not exactly keen on announcing my presence everywhere I go.'_

"Understandable, Mr. Potter. Completely understandable. Don't worry. I won't tell a soul you're here," Tom said enthusiastically as he grabbed the money from Harry's hand and replaced it with his room key.

"Thank you!" Harry said, very happy that he might not have just ruined his chance at being able to remain anonymous for however long he decided to stay at the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry still vividly remembered his first visit to the Leaky Cauldron when he and Hagrid had been attempting to pass through on their way to Diagon Alley. Of course, Harry just had to be recognized; so a mob formed around him and everyone kept trying to talk to him and shake his hand. It wasn't exactly Harry's idea of a great time. In fact, it was on his mental list of _Top Ten Things To Never Be Repeated._ The Leaky Cauldron "meet and greet" was on the list along with getting bitten by a Basilisk, facing Voldemort during his first and second year, and suffering through another class with Lockhart. The attention he received during his first time at the Leaky Cauldron was the kind of attention that Harry actively avoided, if he could help it.

"Oh, well, I won't tell anyone except for Minister Fudge," Tom said, not noticing the way that Harry's face started to pale. "He actually stopped by a few minutes ago and asked if you were here. He seemed quite worried about you. If he's already left the area, then I'll have to send him an owl to let him know that you're here."

 _'WHAT?!'_

"Umm, no, that won't be necessary, Tom," Harry practically squeaked out as his mind raced to find something, anything, to keep Tom from alerting the Minister to Harry's location. "But, uhh, thank you… I actually ran into him outside of the Cauldron as I was getting off of the Knight Bus. So the Minister already knows that I'm here. Don't worry about sending him an owl."

"…Okay, good," Tom replied, looking a little concerned since the reassuring smile that Harry tried to give Tom ended up looking a little constipated.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Harry self-consciously rubbed the scar on his forehead and said, "Well, it's getting late and I'm kinda tired. So…"

"Oh. Oh, right! Of course! Let me just get out of your way," Tom said before he turned and walked out of the room.

Shutting the door and locking it, Harry turned and leaned back against the door for a moment.

"Great," he sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. "The Minister of Magic is looking for me. Apparently not just any Ministry official could look for me, it had to be the Minister himself… Now what do I do?"

Looking at the dog, Harry asked, "I don't suppose you know any good places to run away to or any spots to hide at? Perhaps in Aruba? I've heard it's quite nice there this time of the year."

The dog made a snuffling noise again as it sat down and scratched the left side of its face with its back paw.

"I guess that's a no. Well, hopefully I won't be in too much trouble," Harry said as he walked passed the dog and over to his trunk to closed the lid on it. "I mean, it was accidental magic. It's not like I did it on purpose."

Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage off of the floor and moved it over to the window seat.

Turning his attention back to the dog, Harry knelt down beside it and started scratching behind its ears. The light in the dingy room wasn't that good, but Harry could see that the dog's fur was completely filthy and horribly matted. _'Poor thing.'_

"You're so filthy!" Harry said softly, "I can't believe that I let you lay on my lap for the entire time that we were on the Knight Bus."

Snuffling again, the dog made an attempt to lick Harry's face.

"Nope!" Harry laughed as he leaned back and out of the way.

The dog got up on all four paws and tried to lick Harry's face again.

"Nooo!" laughed Harry as he brought a hand up to shove the dog's nose away from his face.

Harry got back to his feet and smiled as the dog snorted. Walking over to the bathroom, Harry looked back over his shoulder at the dog.

"Come on, boy. Let's get you cleaned up."

The dog slowly got up and followed Harry towards the bathroom, but stopped at the doorway.

Looking around, Harry saw a small sink and mirror, a toilet, and a bathtub. He couldn't see any shampoo, but he did find a bar of soap near the bathtub. Harry went to the tub and turned the knobs to fill it with warm water. Hunting around the room for something he could use as a washcloth, Harry saw two hand towels on a rack by the sink and decided he'd use one of the towels to help clean the dog.

Once the tub had enough water, Harry stuck his hand in to make sure it wasn't too hot or too cold. Finding it to be warm enough, Harry turned to the dog. It was watching Harry from its position standing just inside the bathroom door.

"Come on. Time to get clean," Harry called out to the dog.

Snorting, the dog sat down and turned its head away from Harry.

"Don't be like that. You're absolutely filthy! I won't be taking you anywhere looking like you do right now."

For a moment or two, the dog didn't move, but then it made a noise that sounded like a loud sigh. The dog turned its head to look back at Harry and reluctantly stood back up.

"Come on," Harry encouraged.

The dog slowly walked towards the tub and Harry. Standing on its hind paws, the dog put its forepaws on the edge of the tub and looked down at the water.

"See, it doesn't look that bad… Just go in gently. We don't want water to get all over the room."

The dog seemed to ignore what Harry had said and jumped into the tub, splashing the water everywhere.

"Gah! Look what you did!" Harry exclaimed, more amused than upset, pointing to his wet clothes and the water puddling on the floor.

Making a snuffling, snorting type of sound, the dog sat down in the water.

"You did that on purpose," Harry accused, giving the dog a flat look. The dog looked at Harry, entirely unrepentant.

"Oh well," Harry sighed. "I suppose I was going to get wet cleaning you up anyway."

Rolling up his sleeves, Harry grabbed the bar of soap in one hand and used the other to push the dog down further into the water to get all of its fur wet. Keeping its head above the water, the dog submitted itself to the washing with little protest.

Harry got the dog to stand up in the tub, scrubbed the dog down with the bar of soap, and then got it to lay back down in the water to rinse the soap out of its fur. Harry was gentle as he washed the dog's head, being careful not to get soap in the dog's eyes. The only problem that Harry ran into was that his hands kept getting caught in the dog's matted fur.

After three scrub-downs with the bar of soap, the water in the tub was dark brown and very murky with chunks of grass, twigs, and other unidentifiable objects floating around. Telling the dog to stay, Harry drained the tub, filled it with a bit of water to rinse out the bottom, drained it again, and then filled it back up with warm water. Once again, Harry scrubbed down the dog with the bar of soap and rinsed out its fur. It was easier for Harry to run his fingers through the dog's fur, but it was still pretty matted.

After numerous times scrubbing, rinsing, draining the tub, and filling it back up again, the water in the tub remained mostly clear and Harry was able to get out almost all of the knots and matted places in the dog's fur.

Looking around the bathroom, Harry realized he'd forgotten to find something to dry the dog off with. The only thing that might be of help was the other small hand towel on the rack by the sink.

 _'Well, I guess that's better than nothing.'_

"Ready to get out?" Harry asked as he pulled the plug on the tub, draining it for the final time.

The dog 'woofed' at him and put his forepaws on the edge of the tub.

"Woah! Hold on! Let me try to get you dried off a bit before you get out."

Grabbing the hand towel from the rack that was about the size of the dog's head, Harry shook it out and proceeded to vigorously scrub the dog with it. When the towel was damp and no longer actually helping to dry the dog, Harry draped it over the side of the tub.

"Okay, I think that's about as dry as I'm going to getcha. Come on out!"

The dog jumped out of the tub and landed on the floor in front of Harry. It cocked its head to the side as it looked at Harry for a moment, almost as if it was considering something.

"What?"

The dog snorted before shaking itself, trying to dry out its fur some more.

"No! Wait! Stop! You're getting me all wet again!" Harry exclaimed as he quickly grabbed the damp towel to try to use it as a shield.

The dog stopped shaking out its fur and trotted back into the main room, absolutely unapologetic.

Sighing, Harry followed the dog into the room and grabbed a change of clothes from his trunk.

 _'Ugh. My clothes reek of wet dog. Actually, I think the room smells like wet dog now. Not that that's much of a surprise considering I just spent the better part of an hour cleaning a dog.'_

As Harry changed into his dry clothes, the dog jumped up on the bed and made itself comfortable. Harry returned to the bathroom to hang his wet clothes over the side of the tub to let them dry out a bit before walking back into the main room and over to the bed.

Harry had almost made it to the bed, but a tapping noise distracted him. Looking for the source of the sound, Harry glanced at the window and saw that Hedwig was tapping at the window asking to be let in. Harry quickly walked over to the window and opened one of the panels. Hedwig glided into the room and landed on Harry's left shoulder.

"Hello Hedwig," Harry greeted, lightly brushing two fingers over the feathers on her chest. "How was your flight tonight? Did you catch anything good for your dinner?"

In response, Hedwig clicked her beak at Harry and then started grooming the hair above Harry's ear.

"I've made a new friend Hedwig," he said as he slowly walked back over towards the bed. "I hope you'll get along with him. He's quite nice when he's not getting you all wet."

Hedwig paused her grooming of Harry's hair and looked over at the dog. It was curled up on top of the covers with its eyes closed.

Dismissing the dog with a glance, Hedwig gave one final nip to Harry's hair before gliding from Harry's shoulder to one of the bed posts at the foot of the bed. She fluffed out her feathers for a moment before settling down to sleep, tucking her head under one of her wings.

Harry watched Hedwig for a moment longer and then he turned his attention back to the tired dog on the bed.

 _'I wonder if I should try to sleep on the bed with the dog. He's been pretty friendly so far, but I don't want to assume things and get accidentally mauled to death in my sleep if the dog wakes up before me and feels threatened by my presence or something… Decisions, decisions.'_

As Harry was considering where to sleep, the dog opened its eyes and raised its head to look at Harry. Cautiously sitting on the bed, Harry raised his hand and began petting the dog. Its black fur was clean and somewhat soft.

"Hey boy. Would you mind sharing the bed?"

The dog 'woofed' and nuzzled its head into Harry's hand.

"I guess I'll take that as you not minding."

Since he hadn't been looking forward to sleeping on the floor or forcing the dog to sleep on the floor, Harry decided to hope for the best and go ahead and share the bed with the dog.

Harry stood back up and turned off the lights. Making his way back to the bed, Harry took off his glasses and placed them on the nightstand before pulling back the covers and slipping under them. The dog moved from its curled up position near the end of the bed to get closer to Harry. It settled down on top of the covers next to Harry and rested its head on Harry's stomach.

Bringing his hand out from under the covers, Harry began petting the dog's head.

"You know, I'm going to have to think of a name for you."

The dog made another snuffling noise before licking Harry's palm. Giving the dog one more pet, Harry rested his hand on the dog's side.

"Goodnight."

...

The dog was in a bit of a pickle.

On one hand, he wanted to stay with Harry to make sure that Harry stayed safe and protected. On the other hand, he wanted to go and hunt down that rat bastard before it could get anywhere near Harry.

He knew that that rat would be at Hogwarts and that his best bet would be to get to Hogwarts too, but he didn't want Harry to even be within the same country as that rat, let alone the same building. Especially since that bastard had already spent two years in the castle with Harry.

As the dog looked at Harry's sleeping face, he decided that he couldn't leave Harry all by himself. He would stay with Harry and protect him. Even though he really wanted to get revenge against that treacherous rat, Harry would be his first priority.

Once before, he had placed his revenge against that rat before Harry and look where that got him. He had been thrown in prison while that rat bastard roamed free. He was supposed to have been there for Harry. He had promised James and Lily to watch over and protect Harry should anything happen to them.

He failed them once. He was not going to fail them again.

He would stay with Harry, no matter what.

Closing his eyes and resting his head back down on Harry's stomach, the dog drifted off to sleep, hoping that whatever name Harry decided to call him wouldn't be too ridiculous.

...

Bright and early the next morning, Harry was suddenly woken up. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to remember where he was. The slight shifting of a warm weight pressed against his side reminded Harry of the events that brought him to that room.

 _'I got angry, did magic, left Privet Drive, found a dog, and came to the Leaky Cauldron. Right. Now what?'_

Sitting up slowly so as to not wake up the dog, Harry stretch his arms above his head and looked around the room.

 _'Hmm… What woke me up?'_

Carefully getting out of the bed, Harry walked over to the window and saw that the sun was just barely over the horizon. A rather impatient knocking noise kept him from further taking in the view from the window.

 _'I guess that solves the mystery of what woke me up. It sounds like that isn't the first time whoever's knocking knocked.'_

Making his way over to the door, Harry paused with his hand on the doorknob.

 _'I wonder who it is… Tom's the only person who knows I'm here. It's most likely him.'_

Harry opened the door and found himself face to face with the Minister of Magic.

 _'Well, that's not Tom. This is unfortunate,'_ Harry distantly thought. _'Goodbye freedom, hello expulsion and jail time.'_

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic," Fudge said as he brushed passed Harry and into the room.

"You don't know how relieved I am to find you safe and sound here at the Leaky Cauldron. I originally came last night, but the barman, Tom, said you weren't here. Imagine my surprise when I received an owl from him about an hour later saying that you'd arrived and booked a room! Since it was so late, I didn't feel that it was necessary to disturb you from you rest last night seeing as I knew that you were perfectly fine here."

 _'Oh gee! Thanks a lot, Tom. I won't tell a soul my a– wait a minute; did he just say he was relieved to find me safe and sound? Why would he be concerned about my safety? And why wouldn't I be safe?'_ Harry wondered as the Minister continued to talk.

"It was very reckless of you," the Minister said. "To go running from your Aunt and Uncle's house late last night. I suppose you were a bit upset about your use of accidental magic and concerned for your… Aunt Marge, was it? But it's all been cleared up now. The scene was contained and your Aunt Marge's memory of that event has been modified so that she is still unaware of the existence of magic."

"How were her memories modified?" Harry asked, deciding to ignore the Minister's chastisement of his decision to run from the Dursley's house.

 _'Honestly the best option for me was to run. If I'd stayed, it's likely I wouldn't've made it back to Hogwarts with my skin intact... And modifying Marge's memory? Was it something like what Lockhart did? Did they make her forget or did they make her remember something entirely different?'_

"Obliviators. Surely you should know about them!" the Minister waved a hand back and forth, dismissing the subject of Obliviators. "Anyway, although everything has been set right, your Aunt and Uncle feel that it would be in your best interest if you were to stay out of the house until you return to Hogwarts. I'd assume that your Aunt Marge will be staying with them for a while longer and they want to avoid another incident like the one that occurred last night. Since you already have a room here at the Leaky Cauldron, I believe that it would be best if you simply stayed here until the first of September. You can spend all of your time here in the Leaky Cauldron or you can go wander around Diagon Alley. I'll alert some of the shopkeepers so that they can help keep an eye on you. But you must not go anywhere else."

Fudge paused for a second before moving towards Harry.

"Also, I must –"

The Minister was interrupted by a feral growl.

Startled, both Harry and Fudge looked over at the bed where there was a large, black dog ready to pounce and baring its teeth at the Minister. The angered dog caused Hedwig to puff up in alarm before she flew from the bed post over to her cage and settled on top of it, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings.

"What?! What is… i-is that a–"

Harry quickly interrupted Fudge's stuttering.

"A dog. My dog. He's my dog. I just got him and he, well, he doesn't like strangers?" Harry's rambling statement had turned into a question at the end since he wasn't really sure why the dog was acting the way it was.

"I just… Let me calm him down," Harry said.

Slowly making his way across the floor, Harry started whispering to the dog as he approached the bed.

"Hey. It's okay. Everything is fine. I'm fine. You're fine."

The dog tore his gaze from the Minister to Harry as Harry drew closer. Reaching out his hand, Harry said, "It's okay. He's not here to hurt anyone."

The dog tilted his head, considering what Harry said, before relaxing as Harry sat on the bed beside him and carded his fingers through the dog's fur.

"Well, I must say –"

But Harry interrupted Fudge once again.

"See, he's fine. You must've just startled him."

After a moment, Fudge warily asked, "Why did you decide to get such a large dog?"

 _'And it's your business because?'_ Harry thought before answering, "I got him for… protection."

"Ah, well, very well. Good, ah, good decision, I say! Well… I suppose I should be heading out now. I'm a very busy person after all," Fudge chortled.

Fudge was walking out of the room, but before he left, he turned back to Harry and said, "Remember you can roam around the Leaky Cauldron or Diagon Alley, but you are not to go anywhere else."

"Why?" Harry asked, but the Minister was already gone.

Receiving no answer to his question, Harry turned his full attention to the dog and saw that he was staring at the door.

Harry got up and closed the door before walking back to the bed, holding out his hand. The dog nuzzled his nose into Harry's palm.

"Do you think I should go get us something to eat for breakfast?" Harry asked as sat down beside the dog and ran his fingers through the dog's fur.

Thumping his tail in response, the dog gave a quiet 'woof' of agreement.

"I thought so. Let me go and see what I can –"

Harry fell silent as a knock sounded at the door again before it was opened. Bracing himself for another visit from the Minister or some other official, Harry was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Tom coming into the room with a tray of breakfast food.

Tom set the tray of food on the desk as he said, "Good morning, Mr. Potter. The Minister asked me to bring you a breakfast tray before he left."

As Tom turned and headed back out the door, Harry called out, "Thanks!"

Tom nodded at Harry and then shut the door as he left.

Obviously hungry, the dog stared longingly at the desk where Tom had set the food. Harry thought that it was odd that the dog remained on the bed instead of pouncing on the food the moment Tom carried it into the room.

"Sit here for a moment and I'll share the food with you," Harry said, getting up to go get the tray from the desk. Harry heard the dog's tail thumping down on the bed in excitement.

There was a good portion of scrambled eggs, two slices of buttered toast, four sausage links, four crispy pieces of bacon, and a tall glass of orange juice.

Returning to the bed with the breakfast tray in his hands, Harry sat back down next to the dog and held out one of the sausages. He had to pull his hand back quickly to avoid getting it chomped on by the eager dog.

Deciding to take the safer course of action, Harry picked up the plate and put the three other links of sausage and all of the bacon on the tray. Harry held the plate of eggs and toast on his lap and grabbed the glass of orange juice. He placed the tray of meat on the bed in front of the dog. As the dog gobbled down the meat, Harry ate his own breakfast and downed the orange juice in a few big gulps. The dog whined for more when the both of them had finished eating.

"I'm sorry, boy, but I don't have any more. Besides, I don't want you to get sick by eating too much, too soon."

Harry put his plate and glass back on the tray before getting up and carrying the tray over to the desk.

Looking at the dog on the bed, Harry went over and sat down beside him once again.

"Before we do anything else, I have to introduce you to one of my very first friends."

Cocking his head to the side as if he was curious, the dog kept his eyes on Harry.

"The owl resting on top of the cage is Hedwig," Harry said, pointing to the owl. "I'm afraid you startled her this morning when the Minister came by."

The dog looked a bit sheepish as he gazed over at Hedwig. Hedwig was staring at Harry and the dog.

"She's very smart and very kind. I'm sure you'll both get along once she knows you're not a threat to her."

Harry shifted his gaze between Hedwig and the dog for a few moments before reaching out and putting his hand on top of the dog's head causing the dog to turn his attention back to Harry.

"I'm going to need a name for you. I can't keep calling you boy."

Petting the dog, Harry started listing out options.

"I supposed Blackie is too cliché. Hmm… Midnight, maybe. Since I found you, or rather, since we found each other at night," teased Harry.

The dog put his head on his paws and whined.

"No?" Harry questioned. "Alright. How about Thumper? You've been thumping your tail a lot this morning."

The dog whined even louder and put a paw on his nose.

"Okay, okay. I get it. You don't like that name."

The dog sat up and then rolled over. Showing his belly to Harry, the dog made a snuffling sound, trying to get Harry to scratch his belly. It was quiet for a moment as Harry rubbed the dog's belly.

"Alright. I think I have a good name for you. And if you don't like this name then I'm all out of ideas for the moment."

The dog perked up and looked at Harry from his position on his back.

"What do you think of the name Snuffles?"

The dog seemed to think it over for a bit before giving a soft bark.

"I take it that means you like it?"

Rolling over, the dog pushed his nose against Harry's palm and then licked it.

"Okay, then. Snuffles it is."

...

In the days that followed, Harry primarily stayed in his room at the Leaky Cauldron with Snuffles. The only times that Harry left were to ask Tom for some towels for his bathroom, to take Snuffles on short walks outside, and to go get some shampoo and food for the both of them.

Hedwig would stay in the room and rest during the day before going out to fly and hunt during the night. At mealtimes when Hedwig was up and awake, Harry would offer Hedwig some pieces of his meal, but she'd usually decline and just groom Harry's hair from his shoulders or attempt to get some rest in her cage or on one of the bed posts.

Harry's main reason for mostly staying in his room was that he was trying to focus on getting Snuffles back to full health, or as healthy as Harry could get him, by feeding him and letting him rest. During the day, whenever Snuffles was resting, Harry would work on his summer assignments.

About a week after Harry and Snuffles had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron (and after Harry had finally finished his grueling Potions essay), Harry decided it was time for the both of them to explore Diagon Alley and get some fresh air for more than just the five minute bursts that they'd been getting whenever he'd take Snuffles outside to do his business.

After Harry and Snuffles ate breakfast, Harry checked to make sure that he had his room key before walking out of the room with Snuffles eagerly following behind him. Harry nodded to Tom on his way out of the Leaky Cauldron. A moment later, after few misplaced taps on a few wrong bricks, Harry tapped the correct sequence on the right bricks and Diagon Alley appeared before them.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Snuffles," Harry said, smiling down at his dog.

Snuffles responded by brushing up against Harry's legs and then turning to give Harry a push behind his knees.

"Okay, okay. I'm going. You don't have to push."

Snuffles 'woofed' and walked beside Harry as they weaved their way through the large crowds that gathered in front of the shops.

After the fifth person jumped back, startled, and muttered the word, "Grim", Harry decided that their first stop in Diagon Alley would be Flourish & Blotts; because while the first two people to flinch away from Snuffles were tolerable, by the fifth person, that reaction was starting to grate on Harry's nerves.

Pausing for a moment, Harry sighed. There was a little girl pulling on her father's hand and pointing at Snuffles. When the man saw Snuffles, he covered his daughter's eyes and swiftly pulled her away.

"This is getting ridiculous," Harry said. "You know, I thought that you were a fairly good-looking dog, but I guess that with the way that people are reacting to you, you must be horrifyingly hideous to look at. Am I really that blind or does the sight of you offend people or something?"

Playfully growling, Snuffles lightly head-butted Harry behind the knees, causing Harry to stumble forward a bit.

"Oh, you know I like you. I don't care about how you look or how other people are reacting," Harry smiled. "Come on, we're almost at the bookstore."

Harry was determined to find out what exactly a Grim was and why people were so afraid of it. So, he was going to pull a Hermione and hit the books. Research. Not the most fun thing he could be doing with his time, but it was something that he needed to do.

"Sorry Snuffles, but I don't think they'll let me take you into the store," Harry said once they reached Flourish & Blotts.

Crouching down in front of Snuffles, Harry asked him to sit and stay there for a few minutes while Harry tried to find a few books.

"I don't think anyone will try to snatch you, what with most people are thinking you're this 'Grim' creature, but if someone tries, you have my permission to bite them."

Snuffles 'woofed' in agreement and sat down a few steps away from the store's entrance.

"Good boy."

Leaving Snuffles outside, Harry walked into the bookstore and saw the rows upon rows of bookshelves that stretched throughout the store. Not exactly sure where to start, Harry decided that, since he had Snuffles waiting for him, he'd just ask an employee. Harry walked around a large cage full of multiple copies of the growling and snarling _Monster Book of Monsters_ towards the back of the store where he saw someone sitting behind a cash register.

"Excuse me," Harry politely said to the employee.

"Yes? How can I help y– Harry Potter!" the woman exclaimed once she finally got a good look at Harry's face.

"Yeah, that's me," Harry said, a bit awkwardly. "Um, I was looking for a book or two about a certain creature and was wondering if you could help me some books about it."

"Oh! Yes, of course. What are you looking for?"

"A book with any information about a large dog-looking creature called a Grim."

"A Grim? Looking to study Divination are we?" the woman said as she got up and started walking towards a bookshelf on the far right of the first floor of the store.

"What? Divination? No. Well, yes, actually, I'll be taking that class back at Hogwarts, but that's not… Er, never mind. I'm just interested in learning about what a Grim is," responded Harry as he followed along behind her.

"Here we are, dearie. While a Grim is a magical creature, a lot of information about them can be found in the Divination section," she said, running her hand along the bookshelf in front of her.

"I'd recommend looking through a few of these books and then if you go to the bookshelf that is the third from the left when you first walk in the store, you'll find our most popular selection of books on magical creatures. Personally, I'd get one from the Divination section and one or two from the magical creature section."

"Thank you!" Harry said as he stepped forward to take a closer look at the books before him.

"No problem. If you have any more questions, I'll be back at the register," the woman said before leaving Harry to browse the selection of books.

Harry looked at the spines of the books, occasionally pulling some out to see if they were what he needed. Eventually, he found one that looked promising: _Grim, Grimm, and Grimmer: Is Death in Your Future?_

Not wanting to spend too much time in the store when Snuffles was still outside, Harry hurried over to the bookshelf with information on magical creatures. It took him a while longer to go through the magical creature books since there was a lot of information about a variety of creatures, but he was able to narrow it down to one book: _Canines and Cupboards: Magical Creatures that Look like Your Dog._ And upon seeing _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ , Harry was reminded that he already had that particular text in his trunk. He'd have to have a look at it when he got back to his room at the Leaky Cauldron.

Taking the two books that he'd decided on to the lady at the register, Harry bought his books with no problems and walked back outside. Snuffles was still sitting where Harry had left him.

Upon seeing Harry, Snuffles tail started to wag and he got up and rubbed his side against Harry's legs.

"Hey Snuffles," Harry said, crouching down to scratch him behind his ears. "I think I found what I was looking for. And if not, we can always come back here… Actually, now that I think about it, we'll have to come back here. I still need to get my school books for this year."

Harry straightened back up and looked around.

"Do you want to continue to wander around the Alley for a bit? Then we can head back to the Cauldron for lunch," Harry asked Snuffles. "And after lunch, I'll have to make a brief stop at Gringotts to get some more money so that I can buy my school supplies for this coming year."

Snuffles 'woofed' and circled around Harry before walking away from him. Turning to look back at Harry, Snuffles 'woofed' again and tossed his head back and forth.

"Eager to explore, are you?" Harry laughed.

Catching up to Snuffles, Harry walked side by side with his dog, carrying the bag with his two books as they strolled up and down Diagon Alley.

...

Later that evening, Harry and Snuffles returned to their room at the Leaky Cauldron after a day of wandering around Diagon Alley and buying the required school supplies for Harry, taking only a short break for lunch.

Harry stopped by the bar to grab some dinner from Tom on the way up to his room. Once they made it up the stairs and Harry unlocked the door to their room, Snuffles began circling around Harry's legs as Harry brought the food into the room.

"Quit it, Snuffles. You're going to make me trip and drop the food."

Snuffles immediately sat down where he had stood, causing Harry to have to step around him.

Placing the food tray on the table, Harry split the meal with half of the food staying on the plate and half of the food going on the tray. Harry sat at the desk to eat his meal and placed the tray on the floor for Snuffles to eat.

Once they finished eating, Harry took his plate and the tray back downstairs to Tom and returned to find Snuffles laying on the bed. Harry grabbed the two books that he bought on Grims and tossed them on the bed next to Snuffles. He turned and walked over to his trunk, opening it and searching for his copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._

Upon finding the book, Harry also tossed it onto the bed. Snuffles cracked open an eye to glance at Harry, before closing it and snuffling into his paws.

Harry changed into his pajamas and hopped onto the bed, jostling Snuffles as the mattress moved. Opening both eyes this time, Snuffles glared at Harry.

"Oh, don't be like that. Come here," Harry said, patting at the spot beside him.

Sighing, Snuffles got up and flopped down in the spot that Harry had indicated.

Harry cracked open his copy of _Grim, Grimm, and Grimmer: Is Death in Your Future?_ with one hand and used his other hand to run his fingers through Snuffles fur. After a few minutes, Harry looked over at Snuffles and scratched him behind his ears, gaining the dog's attention.

"So, did you know that a Grim is considered to be a bringer of death? In Divination, the Grim is the ' _omen of ultimate demise or death'_ ," Harry quoted in an ominous voice before returning to speaking regularly. "It's no wonder that most people seem to be afraid of you, Snuffles. You look almost exactly like the Grim that's pictured in this book."

Taking a moment to really look at the dog, Harry asked, "…You're not a Grim, are you?"

Snuffles sat up and nosed the book off of Harry's lap. As the book fell off of Harry's lap and then off of the edge of the bed, Snuffles knocked his head against Harry's hand, asking to be petted some more.

"I just bought that book and you're already throwing it on the ground!" Harry exclaimed in mock outrage as he complied with Snuffles silent plea to be petted.

Harry carded his fingers through the dog's fur and said, "Of course you're not a Grim. If you were, I think I'd already be dead. Either I'm really lucky or you're just a large, black dog. And I'm more than willing to bet that you're just a dog, Snuffles."

Snuffles stared up at Harry and almost looked offended, if a dog could look offended, that is.

"Not that you're _just_ a dog, Snuffles," Harry reassured. "You're also my friend and I'm very grateful that I have you. I think I'd be lonely here if you weren't with me."

Snuffles licked Harry's hand before nuzzling into his stomach and 'woofing'.

"Yeah, yeah, I like you too," Harry said as he brought his arms around the dog to give him a hug.

Releasing Snuffles from the hug, Harry picked up _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ and continued to read about Grims as he ran his fingers through Snuffles' fur.

After an hour or so, Harry closed the book, stopped petting Snuffles, and got off of the bed. Snuffles whined at the loss.

"Don't be like that. I'm just going to get ready for bed. It's been long day, what with having to listen to people scream in fear at the sight of you in the Alley," Harry teased. "I'm tired and I'm pretty sure you're tired too. Also, I know you're not completely healthy yet, so you need all the rest you can get."

Harry went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he returned to the main room, he saw that Snuffles was already asleep in the middle of the bed. Using both hands to gently scoot Snuffles over a bit, Harry slipped under the covers and closed his eyes.

Harry fell asleep wondering what tomorrow would bring.

...

* * *

 ** _Author's Note_** :

… And with that we are now caught up to where I left off at with _See Who I Am_! The next chapter will be all new material! Get excited!

Also, you might've noticed the shift from using "it" to "he" in reference to the dog Snuffles. My reasoning for this is that, at first, Snuffles is just a nameless dog that isn't identified as male or female. But, after Harry finds the dog and becomes more comfortable with the dog, Snuffles is referred to as a "he". Similar to how if you saw a muddy dog approaching you, you'd likely exclaim, "Ugh! Look at that dog! _It's_ filthy!" or "Keep _it_ away from me!" But when you're referring to your own dog or a friend's dog, you'd likely say something like, "I heard about your dog. How's _he_ doing?" or "I just picked _him_ up from the groomers. Look how handsome _he_ is!" So, yeah, that's my reasoning for starting out with "it" and transitioning to "he" in reference to Snuffles.

And… Although I already have a plan for where this story is heading (and I've already written a couple chapters in advance), I'm always open to any suggestions or ideas that you might have, if you'd like to tell me about what you think or share a theory with me – I can't guarantee that I'll be able to incorporate any of the ideas/suggestions that you have (or confirm any guesses as to where the characters will end up – I'd like to keep some twists and turns a surprise), but I do have some wiggle room with the fic to do some stuff – so lay it on me and I'll see what I can do! :)

Any mistakes, grammar or otherwise, are my own. Let me know if you see anything that you think needs to be corrected.


	3. Onward to Hogwarts

**Chapter Three:** ** _Onward to Hogwarts_**

A sudden crash followed by a cat's yowl and loud exclamations roused Harry from his sleep the following morning. Rolling over, Harry reached out towards the nightstand and felt around for his glasses. Harry put them on as he sat up and gave a jaw-cracking yawn.

Although he had gotten to sleep fairly quickly last night, he had been woken up sometime after midnight by Snuffles twitching about and occasionally kicking out a paw. At first Harry thought Snuffles was just dreaming, but as he closed his eyes to try to go back to sleep, Harry heard Snuffles start to whimper.

Realizing that Snuffles was having a nightmare, Harry wriggled down the bed a bit to get closer to where Snuffles was sleeping and propped himself up on an elbow. He had to be careful about how he handled this. Harry didn't want Snuffles to wake up in a panic and accidentally bite or lash out at him, so he decided to try to gradually wake Snuffles up or at least calm him down enough so that he fell out of the nightmare and into better dreams.

Harry gently put a hand on Snuffles' side and slowly started to move it up and down, softly petting Snuffles to try to calm him down. As Harry was petting Snuffles, he began to whisper reassuring phrases.

"You're alright… You're safe… You're not alone... I'm here… It's okay... You're okay... We're okay…"

Eventually, the twitches stopped and the whimpering subsided. Keeping a hand on Snuffles' side, Harry could feel that his breathing was smooth and even. Harry laid back down and closed his eyes, slowly drifting back off to sleep.

As Harry brought his arms above his head to stretch, his movements cause Snuffles to wake up. Snuffles whined and moved over to drape himself across Harry's legs. Harry looked over to the window and saw that the sun was already climbing up past the horizon.

"Guess we're getting a bit of a late start today, Snuffles," Harry said as he ran his fingers through Snuffles' black fur. "Just as long as we're out of here before 10:30 at the latest, I think we'll manage to catch the Hogwarts Express with no problems.

After Harry heard another loud exclamation from the hallway, he recognized the voice outside his door to be Tom's.

 _'What in the world is going on out there?'_

Patting the dog's side, Harry said, "Come on, Snuffles. Get up. I want to see what's happening in the hallway."

Snuffles grudgingly got off of Harry's legs and allowed him to get out of bed. After Harry stood up, he turned back to face Snuffles and saw that the dog had curled up in a ball in the spot that Harry had just left.

"Going back to sleep so soon?"

Snuffles snuffled in response.

"I guess cats are the only animals that're curious," Harry said under his breath. He heard Snuffles answering snort of amusement.

Shaking his head and running a hand through the bird's nest he called hair, Harry walked to the door and opened it.

A breakfast tray and its contents were scattered across the floor. As Harry took a step out of the room, he saw a small grey blur followed by an orange blur race passed him and down the stairs. Looking back down the hallway in the direction that the blurs came from, Harry saw an angry Tom muttering under his breath.

"Good morning, Tom," Harry called out as Tom was about to pass him.

Tom was so focused on stomping down the hall that he jumped a bit when Harry addressed him.

"Ah! Good morning, Mr. Potter," Tom said, stopping in front of Harry. "I hope this commotion didn't disturb you."

Waving off his concern, Harry said, "It's fine. I should've been getting up anyway. So, what happened out here?"

"Nothing to worry yourself about, Mr. Potter," Tom responded. "I originally came up to let you know that there was a family downstairs asking about you. They all have red hair, are a bit loud, and they call themselves the Weasleys. Do you know them?"

"Yes, I do!" Harry said, excited about seeing Ron and his family again. "Are they still down there right now?"

"Yes, I believe that they are," Tom responded.

"Thanks for letting me know!" Harry said as he turned to go back into his room.

Before he shut the door, Harry paused and turned back around to look at Tom.

"Do you need any help with…" Harry trailed off as he waved his hand at the mess in the hallway.

"No, no, Mr. Potter. I have it under control. But thank you for offering," Tom said, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the mess.

"Alright then… See you later."

Harry shut the door behind him as he raced across the room to get to his trunk. Opening it, Harry grabbed some clothes and went to do his morning routine in the bathroom.

Ready to face the day, Harry left the bathroom and walked over to the bed where he ran his fingers through Snuffles' fur. He continued petting the dog until Snuffles opened his eyes and looked up at Harry.

"Hey, Snuffles. If you're up for it, I have some friends downstairs that I'd like you to meet."

Groaning, Snuffles rolled over and dragged himself to the other side of the bed, turning his back towards Harry.

"Come on, old man. Up, up! And here I thought you were a spry, young pup," laughed Harry.

Snuffles snuffled and remained laying down.

"I'm sure you'll like them. My best friend Ron is down there, along with Fred and George and the rest of the Weasley family."

Snuffles' head shot up and he turned to look at Harry.

"Or, actually, it'll be the rest of the Weasleys that are still in England. Ron has two older brothers that work in different countries. One's in Egypt and the other is in… Romania? I think."

Standing up and shaking out his fur, Snuffles padded across the bed and nuzzled his hand into Harry's outstretched hand. Petting the dog, Harry said, "Come on, let's head downstairs."

...

"That thing is a bloody menace!"

"He is _not_! It's not Crookshanks' fault that you can't keep ahold of your rat. And besides, cats chase rats. It's what they do!"

Harry stepped off of the last stair step and walked into the main room to find his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, arguing.

Ron, he was expecting to see, but Hermione was a bit of a surprise.

Hermione was standing defensively with an orange feline in her arms. Ron was standing directly across from her with a hand over a pocket on his shirt that appeared to be quivering.

"Scabbers hasn't been feeling his best! He needs rest and relaxation! And that thing you're holding –"

"That ' _thing I'm holding'_ happens to have a name!" Hermione vehemently interrupted. Ron opened his mouth with the intention of continuing the argument, but glanced to the side and spotted Harry making his way into the room.

"Harry!"

At Ron's exclamation, Hermione turned to look at Harry and smiled.

"Harry! How are you?" Hermione asked, still hugging the cat in her arms. That orange cat looked like it had ran face first into a brick wall. Its face was looking a little squished and flat.

"I'm fine," Harry said before he felt Snuffles bump into the back of his legs.

Harry rocked back on his heels and turned to give Snuffles a quick rub behind the ears.

"Is that your dog, Harry?" Hermione asked, tightening her hold on her cat. "What's his name?"

"Yeah, he's my dog. His name is Snuffles," Harry responded with a smile.

Snuffles gave a short bark at the sound of his name.

"Hush, Snuffles," Harry said gently as a particularly disgruntled-looking woman glared at them from her seat at the bar.

"A-are," Ron cleared his throat. "Are you sure that's a dog?"

"Of course. What else would he be?" Harry asked even though he knew where this was going. Blah, blah, Snuffles is a Grim and death is coming. Maybe he should dye Snuffles fur bright red? That might prevent, or well, delay the inevitable 'Grim' question that seemed to follow Snuffles around. But, then again, dying his fur bright red would probably prompt a whole other set of questions.

"Well, your dog –"

"Snuffles," Harry interrupted.

"– looks an awfully lot like a Grim," Ron finished.

"How would you know?" asked Hermione.

"Well, my uncle Bilius saw a Grim and died the next day. I've heard the story enough times that I know what a Grim looks like."

"Yeah, but you didn't see it," Hermione pointed out.

"Of course I didn't see it! I'm not dead, are I?"

"I don't know, Ron. You are looking a bit peaky," Harry quipped.

"Oh, shut up, Harry," Ron glared, somewhat amused.

The orange feline that Hermione was holding leapt out of her arms, landed lightly on the floor, and padded towards Snuffles. After a short staring contest between the two animals, the cat started to purr. Snuffles responded with a snuffle.

"He seems like a regular dog from what I can see," Hermione said as she watched Snuffles sit at Harry's feet. Hermione's orange cat paced back and forth in front of the dog, continually swiping at Snuffles' front legs with its tail.

"You're only saying that because that orange terror is getting along with it!" Ron exclaimed.

"If I've told you once, then I've told you a thousand times!" Hermione whipped around to face Ron. "Don't call Crookshanks names just because he's following his instincts. Like I've already said, Scabbers is a _rat_ , Crookshanks is a _cat_ , and that's why Crookshanks chases him."

"If your cat is following its instincts, then why isn't it fighting with the dog? Hmm?" Ron argued.

"So, you got a cat over the summer, Hermione?" Harry interjected, hoping to cut the argument short. Harry knew that once they got going, Ron and Hermione could continue to argue with each other for ages.

"Yes. Well, actually, no. Crookshanks is a half-kneazle and I just got him today. I had already purchased my supplies earlier this week and I was debating on stopping by the one of the pet stores then but I decided not to at the time. After I got here this morning, I went with Ron when he went to get some rat tonic for Scabbers, and well, I couldn't just leave Crookshanks at that place after I met him. He is just the sweetest thing –"

Ron scoffed loudly. Hermione purposefully ignored him and took a step closer to Harry.

"Would it be alright if I pet Snuffles?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

"I don't think he'll mind. Just go slowly just in case. He hasn't really had to interact much with anyone other than me," Harry responded.

Hermione reached out her hand, but before she could lay a finger on him, Snuffles shot up and backed away. The sudden movement dislodged Crookshanks who then decided to wrap himself around Hermione's ankles instead.

Snuffles bared his teeth, growled softly, and moved closer to Harry. Hermione quickly retracted her hand and Ron stepped closer to her. They watched as Harry bent down and gently wrapped an arm around the dog. Harry began to pet Snuffles, whispering, "It's alright, Snuffles."

Snuffles calmed down somewhat and stopped growling, but he still eyed both Hermione and Ron warily. Harry stood back up and kept one hand resting on top of Snuffles' head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know he'd react like that. Most people in Diagon Alley thought he was a Grim, so they kept their distance. No one besides me has wanted to pet him," Harry said as he gave Snuffles a few reassuring pats.

"Are you sure he's safe?" Hermione asked, reaching down to pick up Crookshanks. "I mean, it looks like he's fine with you. But would he try to attack someone else?" Hermione paused, before gently continuing to say, "He's a pretty big dog, Harry. If he went after someone, that person could get really hurt."

"I think he's fine and he'll listen to me. He's just a little overprotective of me. I mean, he was even prepared to attack the Minister of Magic when he barged into my room the other day."

"The Minister of Magic?! Harry –" Hermione started to say before Harry interrupted her.

"Fudge came to visit me after I booked a room at the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't that big of deal," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Harry –" Ron began before he too was interrupted.

"Well, well, if it isn't Harry Potter –" Fred said as he came up behind Harry and threw an arm around his shoulders.

"– The Boy-Who-Lived," George continued as he copied his brother's actions and also threw an arm around Harry's shoulders. Fred stood to Harry's left and George stood to Harry's right.

"Looks like Little Harry-kins has decided to –"

"– Grace us lowly lords with his majestic presence –"

But before the twins could continue their back and forth banter, they abruptly stopped and hopped away from Harry. Snuffles was growing once again, only this time Snuffles was pretty loud.

"Ah… nice doggy?" Fred asked weakly, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm.

"It's fine, Snuffles," Harry said, scratching Snuffles behind the ears. Snuffles stopped growling and leaned into Harry's hand.

Turning to address the twins, Harry said, "I'm sorry. He's just not used to people being near me, I guess."

"Right… Well, anyway, mum sent us over –" George began as he pointed to where she was sitting by jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"– To ask if you spotted Harry –" Fred continued.

"– Which you obviously have –" George interjected.

"– And also to say that we're going to be –"

"– Leaving for King's Cross soon."

"And now that we're finished being –"

"– Glorified messengers –"

"– We're off to do a bit of additional exploring," Fred finished as both he and George turned and walked off towards the bar.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched the twins walk away before the three of them looked over to the table where Harry could now see that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting.

Ron shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head towards his parents. First Harry, and then Ron and Hermione, started walking towards the table. It looked like Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were arguing.

Snuffles was following closely behind Harry. Looking down at him, Harry noticed that Snuffles was also continuing to warily glance around room. As they came closer to the table, Hermione and Ron fell a few steps behind as they started to bicker with each other again, but, despite Ron and Hermione's heated argument going on behind him, Harry was able to hear the tail end of the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"We should tell him. It makes no sense not to," Harry overheard Mr. Weasley saying. "I tried telling that to Fudge, but he refuses, stating that Harry's still a child. He's thirteen years old, Molly! He deserves to know that Black is after him!"

"We don't know that for certain and it would terrify him!" Mrs. Weasley quietly argued.

"I'd rather have him scared and safe then let him unknowingly put himself in danger. Black was heard saying 'he's at Hogwarts'. Who else would he be –"

"Oh Harry! How wonderful to see you, dear!" greeted Molly Weasley as she saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron approaching.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Harry responded distantly.

 _'Is Sirius Black going to come after me? Did I hear that right?'_ Harry wondered. _'I guess that's why the Minister of Magic decided to check up on me and made me promise to stay in the area… Great. There's another mass-murdering psycho after me. This is just what I needed.'_

"How are you doing, Harry?" Arthur Weasley asked as he flattened out a newspaper, the Daily Prophet, on the table in front of him. The headline still seemed to be about Sirius Black escaping Azkaban, complete with a deranged-looking picture of the man.

"I'm fine."

"I can only imagine how horrible it must've been for you to be here all by yourself. Why, if Arthur or I had known about it sooner, we would've come and offered you a place at the Burrow until it was time for you to go back to Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I think I've managed quite well on my own here but thank you for thinking of me. It means a lot."

After a moment of somewhat awkward silence, Ron spoke up.

"So, Harry's got a new dog. Which, for some odd reason, likes that orange terror that Hermione just got."

"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed, offended on behalf of her half-kneazle.

"A new dog?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she peered around the table to look at the dog sitting at Harry's feet.

"That's – That's quite a large dog, Harry," Mr. Weasley said as also got a good look at Snuffles.

Snuffles was doing a rather good impression of a statue, his head facing forward with a neutral expression. Or at least he was, until Harry reached down and ruffled the fur on top of Snuffles' head. Snuffles shook his head with a snort.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "But Snuffles is a very good dog."

Craning his head up, Snuffles gave Harry a dopey-looking grin before quickly turning back to survey his surrounds. Snuffles returned to looking straight ahead after he saw that there were no immediate threats near him or Harry.

"And are you planning to take… Snuffles, was it? To Hogwarts with you?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Well, that's the plan. I'm definitely not going to leave him somewhere by himself."

"Are you sure that it would be allowed, Harry?" questioned Mrs. Weasley. "He is quite a large dog and that might be a bit disruptive."

"Oh, well, I figured that if Snuffles couldn't stay with me in the castle, Hagrid might be willing to help me out and let Snuffles stay with him."

"Have you asked Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall about bringing Snuffles with you yet?" Hermione asked.

"… I knew I was forgetting something," Harry responded sheepishly.

"Harry!" Hermione scolded.

"I'll go write a letter to Professor McGonagall now so that by the time we get to Hogwarts, Hedwig will've already delivered it."

"I'd hurry it along, dear," Molly said. "We're getting ready to leave here in about half an hour. The Ministry has lent us a car to take us to the train station."

"Okay, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said. "I'll go do that now."

Harry turned away from the table, gave a nod to Ron and Hermione, and then he and Snuffles retreated upstairs to his room.

...

It only took Harry a few minutes to compose a letter to Professor McGonagall, politely asking if Snuffles could stay with him or maybe with Hagrid if it wouldn't be possible for Snuffles to stay in the castle with Harry.

Harry took his letter over to Hedwig who was resting in her cage.

"Hey girl," Harry cooed softly as he woke her up. "I've got a letter for you to deliver."

Lightly hooting at him, Hedwig shook out her feathers and looked at Harry as she accepted the letter.

"It's for Professor McGonagall. She's most likely at Hogwarts right now and since I'm heading there today, you might as well go on up to the Owlery after you get there. I'll be arriving at Hogwarts later this evening so you'll get there before I do."

Harry ran a finger over her feathers before moving to open one of the window panels. Hedwig clipped the back of Harry's head with her wing as she flew past him and out into the sky.

Sitting down on the window seat, Harry called Snuffles to him. Snuffles sat down once he reached Harry's side.

"So, today I'll be going back to Hogwarts and I'd like you to come with me. But after how you reacted downstairs this morning, I thought I should tell you what to expect. I've come to realize that you understand a lot more than I think a regular dog simply would."

Snuffles snuffled and butted his head against the side of Harry's leg.

"We're going to be leaving with the Weasleys and Hermione. Apparently the Ministry lent them a car, so we'll be driving to King's Cross Station. Once we get to the train station, we have to run through a pillar to get onto Platform 9 ¾. But don't worry, it's a magic gateway so it'll be like running through slightly heavy air," Harry said before tilting his head to the side, considering something. "Although, last year, that pillar was very, very solid."

Snuffles whined in concern.

"But!" Harry exclaimed. "I'm sure that we won't run into the same problem I had with getting onto the platform last year."

Snuffles brushed his head against the palm of Harry's hand, encouraging Harry to start petting him. Harry gave into Snuffles' silent plea and scratched him behind his ears with one hand.

"Right... After we get onto the platform, we'll head into the train to find a compartment for the long journey to Hogwarts. It's usually uneventful. I'll just be talking with Ron and Hermione and sometimes a few of my other friends might stop by," Harry told Snuffles as Harry starting petting him with both hands. "Oh! Malfoy might stop by the compartment to try to start something. He's a complete git so you have my permission to growl threateningly at him. But no biting or pouncing, unfortunately. I don't want you to get in trouble before we even get to Hogwarts. Especially since I don't really have permission to bring you with me yet."

Snuffles whined again.

"Don't worry! I'm sure Professor McGonagall will let you stay with me."

Harry gave Snuffles a reassuring pat on the head before standing up. Snuffles got back up as well.

"Now, I have to make sure that I have everything packed and ready to go. Mrs. Weasley said we'd be leaving soon."

Within the next ten minutes, Harry had all of his belongings packed away in his trunk. He grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage before glancing around the room for one final time to make sure that he didn't leave anything behind. Harry called Snuffles to his side and then shut the door to the room.

Harry made a brief stop at the bar to hand Tom his room key before he wandered back over to the table that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were still sitting at. Ron and Hermione were seated at the table with Percy and Ginny and it looked like the twins had wandered back into the room and were walking towards the table.

When the twins made it to the table and flopped down in their seats, Mr. Weasley happened to glance up and see that Harry was coming towards the table.

"Ah! Harry! Got everything all packed up I see. All ready to go?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Yes, sir," Harry said, sitting down in an open seat between Ron and Hermione and placing his things in the space between his chair and Ron's chair. Snuffles laid down in between Harry's and Hermione's seats.

"We'll all be heading out to the car in a few minutes, dear," Mrs. Weasley said before she turned to her own children and told them to double check their belongings to make sure that they wouldn't be leaving anything behind when they left the Leaky Cauldron.

...

"Hurry along children! We don't want you to be late for the train!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she and her husband escorted their children and Harry and Hermione out of the car and into King's Cross Station.

The car ride to the station wasn't that bad. Harry had placed his trunk and Hedwig' cage in the boot while the Weasleys and Hermione piled into the car. Since the inside of the car had been expanded, giving it wider seats, it wasn't too cramped for all of them to be in the car.

Harry managed to snag a seat by one of the side windows since he was one of the last ones to get in the car. Snuffles was on the floor of the car at Harry's feet, resting his head on Harry's legs. Occasionally, Snuffles would perk up and look out of the window, but he generally stayed very quiet with his head on Harry's legs. Harry was a bit concerned with how Snuffles seemed to be more subdued than usual. But Harry figured that Snuffles was just nervous about having to ride in a vehicle with people that he didn't really know.

Once they arrived at King's Cross, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ushered them all out of the car and into the station. From the car to the 9 ¾ pillar, Snuffles was sticking to Harry's side like glue. They all crossed onto Platform 9 ¾ one by one so as to not attract the attention of the Muggles.

Mrs. Weasley spared a brief moment to hug Harry goodbye and then she was saying her goodbyes to her own children. Before Harry could start walking towards the train, Mr. Weasley asked to speak to Harry privately for a moment. Since Snuffles was acting really nervous and sending wary glances at the crowd on the platform, Harry wanted to make this quick. He could already guess what this was going to be about. Sirius Black.

"Harry, the Ministry doesn't want me telling you this, but I think that you should know that –"

Harry interrupted Mr. Weasley and said, "That Sirius Black is most likely coming after me."

Snuffles gave a little jump when Harry had spoken up.

"Yes, how did –"

"I overheard you talking with Mrs. Weasley this morning," Harry said, glancing down at his anxious-looking dog. "I'm sorry and I don't mean to be rude, but I'd really like to get Snuffles on the train. The crowd is making him nervous and I'm afraid that he's going to bolt off soon. Thank you for the warning. I promise I'll try to be careful."

"Harry –"

"Goodbye, Mr. Weasley," Harry said over his shoulder. Harry felt somewhat guilty with how he had cut off Mr. Weasley like that, but Harry really didn't want a lecture about a murderer coming after him while trying to keep Snuffles calm in this large and loud crowd of people.

As he semi-jogged through the crowd to catch up with Ron and Hermione who were already making their way towards the end of the train, Snuffles was following close behind him. Harry caught up with Ron and Hermione just as they were about to step up onto the train.

Without a moment to spare, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all boarded the train through the same door and began to look for an empty compartment as the train started to leave the station. Eventually Hermione found one that was almost empty. There was only one man in it and he appeared to be asleep.

"I guess having to share with just one person is better than having to share with a bunch of firsties," Ron said as he followed Hermione into the compartment. "I wonder who he is."

"He's Professor Lupin," Hermione said, lifting her stuff up to the overhead shelf and sitting down on the seat about two spaces away from the man, giving him plenty of space. She took Crookshanks out of the basket he had travelled in and placed him on her lap.

"How do you know that?!" Ron exclaimed, turning back to look at Harry. "How does she always know everything?!"

"Hush! Don't wake him. It looks like he could use the sleep, honestly," Hermione said quietly. "And I know who he is because his name is on his trunk. See," she pointed to the worn and scuffed trunk at Lupin's feet. "R. J. Lupin. And he's obviously going to be a professor. Why else would an adult ride on the train to Hogwarts? He's most likely going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Ron noticed that Harry was still lingering outside of the compartment.

"Aren't you coming in, Harry?" Ron asked after Hermione had finished her explanation.

"Yeah, just give me a minute. For some reason it seems like Snuffles doesn't want to come in," Harry said, turning his back to his friends and kneeling down in front of Snuffles.

Snuffles had been following him since they all had left the car at the station, but once Harry turned to follow Hermione and Ron into the train compartment, Snuffles refused to move and just sat down. It almost looked like he wanted to leave. Snuffles kept twitching and looking side to side.

Harry quickly put his trunk and owl cage in the compartment before coming back out into the hall and to try to coax Snuffles into the compartment. But it was like Snuffles wasn't even paying attention to him.

On a second glance, if Harry didn't know any better, it looked like Snuffles was scared. Or panicking. Maybe the sound of the train was freaking him out? But if he didn't like the sound of the train, then why did he get on the train without making a fuss? Why was Snuffles only having trouble when it came time for them to go into the compartment?

"Hey Snuffles," Harry said as he knelt down on the floor in front of the dog. Placing both hands on Snuffles' head, Harry slowly started to pet him while saying, "I know you don't want to come into the compartment with us, but I promise you that it's not that bad in there. I can't just let you stay out here for the entire train ride to Hogwarts."

Snuffles just whined and turned his head to lick Harry's right hand.

"There's plenty of room in there. You won't even have to sit on the floor. You can sit on the seat next to me or sprawl out across my legs like you seem so fond of doing."

...

As Harry continued to try to talk Snuffles into going with him into the compartment, Snuffles was having a small breakdown.

 _'Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Remus is in there! Of all the people in the world, of all the compartments on this train, it had to be him in that compartment. It just had to be Remus who's going to be at Hogwarts all year! If anyone is going to recognize me in my animagus form, it would be Remus!"_

Snuffles paused for a moment, looking straight at Harry but not really seeing him.

 _'Actually, I can pretty much guarantee that Remus will recognize me. He knows what I look like and they all think I'm coming after Harry! Well, to be perfectly honest, I guess I did go after Harry. But not to hurt him! I was just going to check on him and make sure that he stayed safe. Speaking of safe…'_

Snuffles growled lightly, making Harry startle somewhat.

 _'I know that rat is around here somewhere. I saw him pictured in that newspaper article with the Weasleys and I think that boy, Ron, is the one who has the rat now. But I haven't actually seen that bastard yet... And he hasn't seen me either. Huh.'_

Harry was gently petting Snuffles' head and saying reassuring phrases, trying to keep Snuffles calm, but Snuffles wasn't really listening.

 _'Well, I guess this means that I still have the element of surprise because even though they all know Harry that has a 'new dog', that slimy coward of a rat might not have put the pieces together yet and figured out it's me,'_ Snuffles suddenly nuzzled his head into Harry's stomach.

 _'I guess I'll go into the compartment with him. There's no way I'm leaving Harry alone when that rat is nearby. I'll just have to try to hide myself as best as I can. And I just hope to Merlin that Remus won't pay too much attention to Harry's, uhh, new well-behaved dog. Hopefully, he and everyone else will think I'm still out there on the run, all crazed and nowhere near Hogwarts yet.'_

...

It kind of looked like Snuffles was arguing with himself. Which was odd, but not too concerning. After Snuffles growled to himself and then rubbed his head into Harry's stomach, Snuffles allowed Harry to lead him into the compartment. Harry was just happy that Snuffles was finally coming into the compartment and that no other student happened to be in the hall when he had been trying to get Snuffles to come in.

Sitting down on the seat next to Ron, but across from Hermione, Harry watched as Snuffles cautiously entered the compartment. He kept giving especially wary glances to Lupin. Snuffles apparently deem the area safe enough and hopped up on the seat next to Harry and closest to the door.

Snuffles situated himself so that he was curled up in a ball and taking up as little space as possible as he laid down with his head tucked into the space between Harry's back and the back of the seat that Harry was sitting on.

"What? What are you doing Snuffles?" Harry asked, attempting to get Snuffles to stop trying to worm his way in between Harry's back and the seat. Snuffles stopped moving, but kept his head where it was.

"Are you hiding?" Harry asked a bit incredulously.

"Maybe the sounds and movement of the train is causing him to be nervous or frightened," Hermione suggested.

Crookshanks hopped off of Hermione's lap, jumped down to the floor, and then hopped up on the same seat as Snuffles. Crookshanks settled down on top of Snuffles and started purring.

"I think crowds of people, or at least people that he doesn't know, make him anxious. He's been acting kind of nervous and wary ever since he and I left my room at the Leaky Cauldron this morning," Harry said. "I guess it would make sense, him being skittish around strangers. I'm pretty sure he was a stray. He wasn't looking too good when I first found him."

"I'm sure that's it, Harry," Hermione said gently, trying to be reassuring. "If he was mistreated by his previous owner or if he'd been on his own for a while, the way he's been acting would make sense."

"You know, looking at him now, I wouldn't've guessed he was a stray," Ron said. "He's cleaned up well."

"Thanks, mate," Harry said, before looking at the door to make sure it was shut and then at Lupin to see if he was still asleep. "And there's something I need to tell you. Both of you."

"What?"

"Did you happen to hear what your parents were talking about when we all went over to the table this morning?" Harry asked Ron.

"No. I think Hermione and I were –"

"Arguing?" Hermione interjected.

"– talking," Ron finished.

"Ron, your mum and dad were talking about Sirius Black," Harry said, briefly glancing over at Snuffles when the dog twitched.

"Well, I know he's front page news nowadays. But why is that any cause for concern," Hermione asked.

"Besides him being an escaped convict?" Ron asked amused.

"You know what I mean," Hermione said giving Ron a _look_ before addressing Harry. "Why are you bringing this up now, Harry?"

"They were saying that Black escaped Azkaban to come after me," Harry said, laying a hand on Snuffles as the dog let out a soft whine.

"You!" Ron squeaked and then cleared his throat. "Why would he be coming after you?"

"It's obvious, isn't it," Hermione said.

"Of course it is, but please enlighten us," Ron said sarcastically.

"Guys," Harry warned.

"Well, I read that Black was a serious support of You-Know-Who. And Azkaban makes people crazy, or well, crazier. If Black escaped, it makes sense that he'd come after Harry for revenge against his master," Hermione explained.

"Apparently Black was overheard saying something like, 'he's at Hogwarts'. So that's why they think he'll be coming after me," Harry said, trying to sound unconcerned.

"Oh Harry," Hermione said sympathetically. Apparently Harry didn't sound as unworried as he would've liked.

"I'm sure you'll be fine at Hogwarts," Ron said, trying to be reassuring. "I mean Dumbledore's there and even You-Know-Who was scared of facing off against him. Black won't stand a chance at getting to you."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure it'll all be fine," Harry said. "I guess I'm just getting tired of mass-murdering psychos coming after me."

"I think anyone would be tired of that, mate," Ron said wryly.

"But they'll catch him eventually," Hermione said. "I mean, they also have the Muggles looking for him."

"Yeah, I saw on the–" Harry stopped talking when he heard another soft whine from Snuffles.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned, having not heard Snuffles whine.

"It's Snuffles. I think maybe you were right about the train making him nervous. He was whining a bit," Harry answered.

"I'm sure he'll be fine once he can get off of the train," Hermione said. "Once we get to Hogwarts, he'll probably love to have the opportunity to run around the grounds. He's only been in the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley since he's been with you right?"

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Then he's probably been going slightly stir-crazy at being kept indoors. Especially since he's a large dog. I think I've read somewhere that larger dogs usually like to have time to play and run around outside," Hermione said.

"And!" Ron interjected. "I bet he'll love to be able to walk down from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade with us. He'll have to stay out of the shops, but you said he waited for you just outside the door of the shops when you took him with you through Diagon Alley, right?"

"Yeah, but –" Harry was cut off by Ron.

"There's so many places I want to go to in Hogsmeade. The Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes, and Zonko's Joke Shop are going to be some of my first stops on our first trip there. I've heard so much about those places from Fred and George," Ron said, sounding excited.

"Do you know much about Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked Ron. "I've read that it's the only non-Muggle settlement in Britain –"

"Yeah, I think it is," Ron said distractedly. "But I'm pretty sure that my favorite place to go to will be Honeydukes."

"Honeydukes?" Hermione asked. "What's that?"

"It's a sweetshop," Ron said, almost drooling at the thought of it. "They've got _everything_ there! Chocolate Frogs, Pepper Imps, Ice Mice, Sugar Quills… Any type of candy you can name, they have it! I can't wait to buy some –"

"But Hogsmeade is a very interesting place, right?" Hermione cut in. "In _Sights of Historic Society_ it says that an inn there was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion. And the Shrieking Shack is supposed to be the most haunted building in all of Britain –"

"– and there are sherbet balls that make you levitate a few inches of the ground when you suck on them," Ron said, clearly not listening to a thing Hermione was saying.

Seeing that Ron wasn't paying attention, Hermione turned to Harry and said, "It'll be so nice to get out of the school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade this year, don't you think?"

"Probably," Harry sighed. "And I guess you'll have to tell me all about it."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, tuning back into what Hermione and Harry were saying. "You'll be there with us."

"No I won't," Harry said, sounding disappointed. "The Dursleys wouldn't sign my permission form so I won't be allowed to go."

" _Not allowed to go?!_ " Ron sounded positively scandalized. "But surely – I mean – McGonagall has to let you come! It's Hogsmeade!"

"I don't think she will," Harry said miserably, thinking of how strict Professor McGonagall usually was. "I mean, I figure I'll already be pushing it with asking her to let me keep Snuffles at Hogwarts with me."

"Then sneak out and join us! I'm sure Fred and George would help you. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that, yeah?" Ron suggested.

"Ron! I don't think I'd be safe for Harry to be sneaking out of the castle with Black on the loose," Hermione scolded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ron said grudgingly.

After a few quiet minutes, Ron suddenly spoke up again.

"Is he even breathing?" Ron asked, pointing at Lupin.

"What?" Harry asked, slightly bewildered at the random change of subject.

"He hasn't moved at all since we've been here. I just want to make sure that I'm not, or that we're not, sharing a room with a – well, with a –"

"Corpse," Harry said dryly.

"Yes, that!" Ron squeaked.

"Honestly, Ronald! He's just sleeping," Hermione said, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Ron asked rhetorically. "He's been creepily still this entire time."

"He's been staying still because he's been sleeping," Hermione said. "Watch his chest and you'll see it rise and fall with every breath he takes."

Ron watched Lupin for a few seconds before muttering, "Whatever", and turning to look out of the window while Harry and Hermione shared an amused glance.

Hermione soon pulled out a book and Harry turned to Ron to draw him into a conversation.

...

A few hours had passed before the relative peace of the compartment was broken.

The three of them had exchanged stories about what they had done over the summer. While Hermione and her parents went to France, Ron and his family went to Egypt for a month and visited with his older brother Bill ("Yeah, we were actually planning on coming to Diagon Alley a day earlier and staying the night, but mom and dad decided we would stay with Bill for one more day before coming back to England. And let me tell you that rushing around to get our school supplies at the last minute was an absolute nightmare."). Harry briefly summed up his time spent at the Dursleys before telling Ron and Hermione more about what he and Snuffles had gotten up to during their time at the Leaky Cauldron.

After they swapped summer stories, Ron and Harry started quietly discussing professional Quidditch teams. Once or twice, Ron's shirt pocket would quiver, so Harry assumed that Scabbers was still alive and with Ron. Hermione, not really interested in the boys' Quidditch discussion, grabbed one of her books to read while occasionally glancing over to check on Snuffles and Crookshanks who were sleeping on the seat next to Harry.

Hermione just about dropped her book and the boys jumped a bit as the door of the compartment was slammed open by Draco Malfoy with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle lurking threateningly behind him. All three of the awake occupants of the compartment glared at the three Slytherins; firstly because the door slamming open startled them, and secondly because it was Malfoy and after two years at Hogwarts, glaring at Malfoy was almost a reflexive reaction.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here," Malfoy said disdainfully. "If it isn't Weasel and Potty –"

Malfoy had looked like he was going continue, but noticed the adult in the compartment. When Malfoy had slammed the door open, Lupin drew in a deep breath, and for a moment, it looked as if he was going to wake up. But, rather than waking, Lupin just shifted a bit and stayed sleeping.

"I'd leave if I were you, Malfoy," Harry said with a hard voice. "Wouldn't want to wake the new Defense Professor, would we?"

Malfoy continued to hover uncertainly at the door for a second or two before turning up his nose.

"Whatever," Malfoy said. "Can't hide behind a professor's robes forever."

"Run along, now," Ron mocked.

Malfoy glared at Harry, Ron, and Hermione before shifting his gaze to the sleeping professor. Sneering, Malfoy turned on his heel and left the compartment, Crabbe and Goyle trailing after him looking confused.

"That was great!" Ron laughed aloud. "I guess sitting in the compartment with him has its uses." Ron flapped his hand in Lupin's direction.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed quietly. "Quiet down! You're going to wake him."

Ron crossed his arms with a huff, looking out of the dark window at the pouring rain.

"But that was pretty great," Hermione conceded with a smile. Ron glanced at Hermione and, upon seeing her smile, smirked in response.

Harry chuckled a bit under his breath and lightly ran his fingers through Snuffles' fur.

"We must be nearly there," Ron said turning away from the window and addressing Harry and Hermione. "I'm starving."

"You're always hungry, Ron," Hermione said as the train started to slow down.

Ron hopped up and stood in front of Lupin.

"Should we wake him now?" Ron asked. "Let's hurry and get to the feast –"

"We can't be there yet," Hermione said as she checked her watch. "We still have a little less than an hour until we should arrive at the station."

"Then why are we stopping," Ron asked, pointing at the window to the completely black sky. The train had slowed even more and was coming to a stop. With the train almost stopped, the wind howling outside sounded even louder.

Harry got up to look out of the compartment window and into the hall to see if he could figure out what was happening. Other than a few other students who were also poking their heads out of their own compartments, there was nothing in the hall to indicate what was going on.

With a sudden jolt, the train stopped completely. Then, without warning, all of the lights went out and they were sent into total darkness.

"What's going on?" Ron asked from somewhere behind Harry.

"Ouch!" Hermione gasped. "That was my foot, Ron!"

"Sorry," Ron said as Harry felt his way back to his seat and Snuffles.

Apparently Snuffles and Crookshanks had woken up in all the commotion. Harry wasn't too sure where Crookshanks had ran off to, but Snuffles was still on the seat.

"Do you think we've broken down?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Ron said, moving back to the window to take a look outside.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said after a moment or two. "I think some people are coming aboard."

Sitting down next to Snuffles, Harry ran a hand down the dog's back and could feel Snuffles trembling.

Suddenly the door to the compartment opened and someone fell over Harry's legs as the door closed.

"Sorry! – Do you know what's going on? – ouch! – Sorry –"

"Hey, Neville," Harry said, feeling around and pulling Neville up off of the floor by the back of his cloak.

"Harry?" Neville asked. "Is that you? Do you know what's going on?"

"Haven't a clue," Harry said. "Sit down – No! Not there, my dog's sitting there."

"Dog?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, I have a dog now. I can tell you about how I got him later, if you'd like."

"I'll go ask the driver what's going on," Hermione declared, but as soon as Harry heard Hermione open the door, it sounded like another person fell into their compartment with a thud.

"Ouch!"

"Who's that?"

"Who's there?"

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was looking for Ron –"

"Come here and sit down –"

"Not here!" Harry quickly exclaimed as he felt someone start to sit in his lap. "I'm here!"

"Ow! That was my –" Neville started to say but was suddenly interrupted.

"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice.

The command and the shock of hearing Lupin's voice caused everyone else in the compartment to fall silent. It appeared that Professor Lupin had woken up at last.

Snuffles had wormed his way behind Harry's back and was shaking in terror, softly whimpering and whining. Harry, really worried about Snuffles, twisted back his right shoulder so that he could put a protective arm around Snuffles. But all Snuffles did in response was continue to shake as he burrowed his head under Harry's jacket.

 _'If I were wearing my school robes now, Snuffles would be able to hide himself better from whatever it is that he feels the need to hide himself from,'_ Harry distantly thought.

The compartment was suddenly illuminated with a soft crackle as Lupin created a small flame in the palm of his hand.

"All of you stay where you are," Lupin said in the same hoarse voice as he slowly stood up with his handheld flame in front of him.

Lupin took a step towards the door, but the door slowly slid open before Lupin had a chance to get any closer to it.

Lupin's flame illuminated the cloaked figure standing in the doorway. It was very tall with a face that was completely hidden by the hood of the cloak it wore. Whatever it was had dark-greyish hands that looked scarred, slimy, and decayed.

The thing drew in a slow, long, and rattling breath as if it were trying to suck something in. As it was doing this, the temperature in the compartment seemed to drop. As the intense cold sensation swept through Harry, he felt as if his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

It was as if the cold was a hand that was reaching inside of him, closing around his heart.

He couldn't breathe.

Harry felt like he was drowning.

He felt like he was being dragged down under cold, murky water.

It was so cold.

So dark.

Someone was screaming.

Screaming for help.

Pleading.

Terrified.

Harry wanted to help whoever it was, but he couldn't move.

He needed help himself.

He couldn't think.

He couldn't –

"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?!"

Someone slapped him.

Someone had just slapped Harry in the face.

"Wh – what happened," Harry asked weakly as he opened his eyes. The lanterns in the compartment were lit again and the floor was shaking. The Hogwarts Express was moving once more.

It seemed that Harry had slid out of his seat and onto the floor. A very warm, lumpy floor.

Snuffles.

When Harry had slid to the ground, so had Snuffles. Since Harry had had his arm firmly around Snuffles, Harry had dragged Snuffles down with him and then collapsed over the top of the dog, shielding him from sight.

Ron and Hermione were kneeling next to him and Harry could see Neville and Professor Lupin standing over Ron and Hermione's shoulders, looking down at him.

Harry felt like he was going to throw up.

Harry started to sit up, only to feel a cold sweat break out across his face. Ron and Hermione helped him sit up on the floor and lean back against the bottom of the seat. Snuffles was laying down, seemingly passed out, between Harry and the seat that he was leaning against, so Harry was sitting awkwardly, with his shoulders against the seat and his hips pushed outward. Snuffles was still mostly out of sight behind Harry.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I think so," Harry said uncertainly, looking towards where he had last seen the creature.

"What was that – that thing?! I heard someone screaming. Is everyone else alright?" Harry asked, slightly frantic.

"No one screamed, mate," Ron responded, sounding concerned. Behind Ron, Ginny was huddled down on one of the seats, looking pale and shaky.

"But I swear I heard screaming –"

A loud snap had them all startled and slightly jumping out of their seats. Professor Lupin was breaking off pieces of a gigantic chocolate bar.

"Here," Professor Lupin said, handing a piece of chocolate to Harry. "Eat this. You'll feel better."

Harry took the piece of chocolate but didn't eat it. Instead he asked, "What was that thing?"

"A Dementor," Lupin said as he handed out the other pieces of chocolate to Ginny, Neville, Ron, and Hermione. "One of the guards of Azkaban. It was searching the train for Sirius Black."

Harry, as well as all of the others in the compartment, stared at Lupin as he put the now empty chocolate wrapper in his pocket.

"Eat," Lupin said. "It will help. I need to go speak to the driver. If you'll excuse me."

Professor Lupin walked passed Harry, out of the compartment, and disappeared off into the hall.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry," Hermione asked, concerned.

"What happened?" Harry asked as put a hand on Snuffles' side. Snuffles was still breathing and appeared to be unconscious since the dog was staying completely still. "I don't understand…"

"It looked like you were having a fit of some kind," said Ron, still looking a bit spooked. "You had fallen to the ground, taking Snuffles with you as you went. Your dog was completely limp. He looked more like a lump of fur rather than a living thing. And then once you were on the ground, you started twitching around –"

Harry turned to look at Snuffles to make sure that he was alright. By gently petting Snuffles' head and then shaking the dog's side a bit, Harry got Snuffles to barely open his eyes for a few seconds before closing them again. It seemed like Harry and Snuffles shared the same bad reaction to the Dementors.

"And then Professor Lupin stepped over you and towards the Dementor, pulling out his wand," Hermione said. "Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the Dementor and said, 'None of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But that Dementor didn't leave. So Professor Lupin muttered something and this silvery thing came out of his wand at the Dementor, and the Dementor turned around and glided away."

"I was horrible," Neville said, sounding frightened. "It felt like…"

"Like you'd never be happy again," Ron finished after Neville trailed off. Ginny gave a soft sob which had Hermione bustling over to her to wrap a comforting arm around Ginny.

"But no one else… No one else fell off of their seats?" question Harry as he lightly trailed his fingers over Snuffles' side as the dog continued to lay almost unnaturally still. The only sign that Snuffles was alive was the barely noticeable movement of his chest moving with every breath the dog took.

"No," Ron said. "But Ginny started shaking like mad."

Harry didn't understand why no one else was effected the way he had been. He felt weak and shaky, like he was getting over a bout of sickness or something. Why was it always him that these kinds of things happened to?

Before anything else could be said, the compartment door slid open once again and Professor Lupin leaned into the room.

"We'll be arriving at Hogsmeade in about ten to fifteen minutes," Lupin said, glancing around at everyone in the compartment. His eyes fell on Harry, who was still sitting on the floor with the piece of chocolate uneaten in his hand.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Lupin asked.

"Fine," Harry answered, somewhat embarrassed. He wasn't really surprised that Lupin apparently knew who he was. Harry figured that Lupin either recognized the 'famous' scar on his forehead or, more likely, Lupin heard one of his friends calling Harry by his name.

"You know, that chocolate isn't poisoned. I promise," Lupin said, indicating that Harry and the rest of his friends should eat the chocolate.

At Professor Lupin's prompting, Harry took a bite of the chocolate. Almost immediately after he swallowed the chocolate, a feeling of warmth spread through him, from the tip of his nose to the bottom of his toes.

Harry opened his mouth again, to ask if Professor Lupin would check on Snuffles since he seemed to know how to help Harry with the after effects of whatever the Dementor did to him, but was interrupted by Lupin saying that he was going to go check on some of the other students in the other compartments.

After Lupin left, the compartment stayed mostly silent with no one really wanting to talk. Harry had got himself up off of the ground. And with Ron's assistance since he was still feeling shaky, they got Snuffles up onto the seat beside Harry.

Harry spend the remaining time until they got to the station trying to get Snuffles to respond to him. Snuffles was trembling and remained quiet with his eyes closed even as Harry gently moved Snuffles' head to his lap and ran his fingers through Snuffles' fur. Harry leaned down next to Snuffles' face to softly murmur reassurances.

Periodically, Harry would ask Snuffles to opens his eyes and Snuffles would respond by blearily opening his eyes for a few seconds and then closing them again.

As the train pulled into the station and stopped, Harry coaxed Snuffles to sit up on the seat while Harry gestured for the others to walk out of the compartment ahead of him. Bending his knees so that he was eye-level with Snuffles sitting on the seat, Harry scratched Snuffles behind his ears.

"Hey Snuffles," Harry began softly. "Do you feel up to walking with me out of the train and to the carriages? If not, I might be able to carry you. You're probably bigger than I could comfortably pick up, but I think I could manage."

Snuffles turned his head to briefly nuzzle into Harry hand before jumping down off of the seat to stand and lean into Harry's legs.

"Let's go," Harry said, brushing his hand over Snuffles' head and walking out of the compartment.

On the way down the hall and out of the train, Snuffles was barely a half-step behind him and continually brushed up against Harry's legs, occasionally trembling, as if he was afraid or seeking comfort.

After completely ignoring Malfoy's attempts to mock him for 'fainting' on the train, Harry stepped into a carriage with Snuffles quickly following in after him. Once Ron and Hermione joined him, the carriage started moving, taking the four of them past the Dementors lurking at the front gates and onward to Hogwarts.

...

As Ron, Harry, and Hermione made their way towards the Great Hall for the sorting and the feast, they were stopped by Professor McGonagall.

"Ah! Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter, if I could speak to you both for a moment," Professor McGonagall asked, even though it was less of a question and more of a demand.

"Alright," Harry said as both he and Hermione stopped in front of the professor. He figured that this was about Snuffles, but he had no idea why Hermione would be asked to talk to Professor McGonagall too.

"Head along into the feast, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said to Ron. "I'm sure Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger will be joining you shortly."

"I'll see you later, then," Ron said uncertainly as he hovered near Harry and Hermione for a moment longer before heading to the Great Hall.

"Ms. Granger, if you could wait for me in that room," Professor McGonagall asked, pointing towards a door just off to the right of the hall. "I'll be with you in a moment to discuss your class schedule after I talk to Mr. Potter."

Hermione nodded, gave Harry a concerned look, and walked over to the room. Harry watched her walk into the room before turning his attention back to the professor. McGonagall was looking down at Snuffles who had practically molded himself to the back of Harry's legs.

Snuffles was still periodically shaking. All Harry wanted to do was to take Snuffles up to his dorm room and reassure Snuffles in whatever way he could. He would tell Snuffles that they would be safe here at Hogwarts, that that Dementor attack on the train shouldn't have happened, and that the Dementors shouldn't be able to attack them again, not while they were within the castle's walls.

"Come along, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "Let's get you checked out by Madam Pomfrey."

"I'm fine, Professor," Harry said.

"Let's let Madam Pomfrey be the judge of that. Professor Lupin wrote ahead to let us know what happened with that Dementor on the train. We all just want to be sure that there are no lasting negative side effects," Professor McGonagall said as she turned and started walking towards the Hospital Wing.

Rather that responding, Harry quickly fell into step a few paces behind the professor. As he was walking, Snuffles padded along beside him and stayed in constant contact with Harry's left leg. Harry saw that Snuffles was keeping his head bowed, not even bothering to look at his surroundings. So Harry bent his knees a little as kept walking to brush his hand through Snuffles' fur, from his head to his tail.

Harry was really worried when petting Snuffles continued to garner no reaction from the dog. Snuffles usually wagged his tail a little or tilted his head into Harry's hand whenever Harry was petting him. If only that Dementor hadn't come into their compartment on the train.

Not a moment later, Professor McGonagall and Harry made it to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them at the door.

"There you are, Mr. Potter! Come and sit down on this bed," Madam Pomfrey said, ushering Harry to sit on the bed that was closest to the door.

"Oh!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, noticing the large dog that shuffled under the bed to brush up along Harry's legs from behind. "You know, Mr. Potter, I don't normally allow animals in here."

"Please let him stay, Madam Pomfrey," Harry begged. "The Dementor attack has really shaken him up and I'm really worried about him. I don't want to let him be alone right now."

Madam Pomfrey glanced at Professor McGonagall who gave Pomfrey a curt nod.

"Very well," Madam Pomfrey said. "Now let's have a look at you. Professor Lupin told us that you passed out after that Dementor came too close."

"…Yes," Harry reluctantly said. "And I've already eaten some chocolate that Professor Lupin gave me. He said it would help and it seemed like it did."

"It looks like we finally have a Defense Professor who actually knows what he's talking about. I still don't understand what the Ministry was thinking, allowing Dementors to come so close to the school," Madam Pomfrey muttered, waving her wand as she performed a diagnosis spell on Harry.

Upon getting the readings from the spell, Madam Pomfrey declared that Harry would be fine and could go to the feast, but she also recommended that he eat some more chocolate, just to be on the safe side.

Madam Pomfrey went into her office for a moment before returning with a large bar of chocolate and instructing Harry to eat some of it now. Under Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey's watchful eyes, Harry unwrapped the chocolate bar and broke off a piece, popping the piece in his mouth and chewing. Harry finished eating the piece of chocolate in his mouth as he got up off of the bed. Snuffles remained hiding behind Harry's legs as Harry shoved the rest of the wrapped chocolate bar in one of his pockets.

"So, about Snuffles," Harry began. "I know that it was late notice and I'm sorry about that, but I was really hoping he'll be able to stay with me. He's really well behaved. He listens to me and follows all the commands I give him. He's a bit protective of me, but he's never bitten or attacked anyone. I know that he's a large dog, but he's really friendly. So, could he please stay, Professor?"

"After I received you letter, I conferred with Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey about your dog," Professor McGonagall began, looking at the dog hiding behind Harry's legs for a moment before returning her gaze to Harry. "Madam Pomfrey confirmed that, as far as she knows, no one in Gryffindor is allergic to dogs. Professor Dumbledore believes that your dog could potentially be a good friend and protector, but he ultimately left the decision to me on whether or not you could keep your dog here."

After a few moments of silence, Harry prompted Professor McGonagall to speak again by asking, "So, could he please stay?"

Professor McGonagall looked at Snuffles once more for a few seconds before looking back up at Harry.

"I'm afraid he's too big for you to take with you to your classes, but I suppose he can remain with you in the castle," said Professor McGonagall.

Harry smiled brightly and started thank her, but Professor McGonagall raised her hand, silently asking him to let her finish speaking. "I must warn you that if I hear of any serious complaints about your dog, it's likely that he'll have to go."

"But what if Malfoy or one of the other Slytherins –" Harry started to say.

"If Mr. Malfoy or any of the _other_ _students_ voice a complaint against your dog, then I will investigate the matter fully before making a decision."

"But Snape might –"

"Professor Snape," corrected Professor McGonagall. "And as your Head of House, I, as well as the Headmaster, will have the final say with any issues or complaints against any Gryffindor pets."

Harry still looked unconvinced.

"Don't worry Mr. Potter. If your dog is as well behaved as you say he is, then I believe that there will be no trouble," Professor McGonagall assured.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, placing a gentle hand on Snuffles' head. He was still concerned that Snuffles seemed to be hiding behind him.

"Now run along Mr. Potter. There's still a feast going on, although it may be prudent to take your dog to your dormitory first as the number of students in the Great Hall might overwhelm him or your dog might be a shock to some of the students who aren't expecting a large dog to show up for dinner."

"Thanks again, Professor," Harry said as Professor McGonagall walked out of the door and back towards where they left Hermione.

Looking at Snuffles, Harry crouched down and gave him a hug. Snuffles hid his head in the space between Harry's neck and his right shoulder.

"Don't worry, Snuffles," Harry whispered. "You'll be staying with me now. I'll protect you from those Dementors as best as I can. And from anything else that means you harm."

The first sound that Snuffles made since the Dementor attack on the train was something between a snuffle and a snort as he turned to nuzzle his head further into Harry's neck.

Happy to finally be getting a positive response from Snuffles, Harry reached up one of his hands and slowly began to pet him. After a few moments, Harry leaned back away from Snuffles to look him in the eyes.

"Do you want to just go up to my dorm room?" Harry asked him. "We can get you all settled in before the rest of the boys in my year come up."

Snuffles gave a very soft 'woof' in agreement, so Harry stood up and, making sure that Snuffles was following him, walked out of the Hospital Wing and towards Gryffindor Tower.

As Harry started to pass by the Great Hall, he decided to make a quick stop. Bending down so that he was once again at eye level with Snuffles, Harry asked him to wait right there for a moment as he ran in to grab them something that they could eat up in his room.

Obediently, Snuffles sat down in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Harry stood back up and squeezed in between the partially opened doors to the Great Hall. Heading over to the Gryffindor table, Harry spotted Ron and walked over to him.

"Hey Harry!" Ron said around a mouthful of food. "Where's Snuffles? Can he stay here with you?"

"He's waiting just outside of the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall said he could stay," Harry happily said as he began to fill a napkin with two turkey sandwiches and a few boiled potatoes and another napkin with quite a few slices of ham. "I'm going to take some food up to our room so that Snuffles won't be so overwhelmed with all of the loud people in here. I don't think he'd be up for it after the way that Dementor affected him."

"Understandable, mate," Ron said. "I'll see ya later. And I'm glad to hear that you get to keep your dog."

Harry turned around and took one step forward before suddenly turning back around and facing Ron once again.

"Oh! Do you know the password to get into the Tower?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, it's Devil's Snare," Ron said with a bit of a grin.

"Thanks!" Harry said as he left Ron and walked back to the doors with the napkins of food in his hands.

Snuffles was still sitting where Harry had left him. Upon seeing Harry squeeze back through the doors from the Great Hall, Snuffles stood up and walked over to Harry.

Together, they walked through the corridors, up the many stairs, and made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked.

"Devil's Snare," Harry said.

The portrait swung outwards, letting Snuffles and Harry into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Unlike before when they were walking through the halls of Hogwarts, Snuffles glanced around the room.

"If you want, you can explore around the room for a bit. It might be easier for you to check out everything now rather than when everyone comes up here after the feast," Harry said, ruffling the fur on Snuffles' head.

Snuffles looked up at Harry before walking away from Harry to look around the room.

Even though Harry stayed close to where Snuffles was looking around, Snuffles would still check to see where Harry was every other minute.

Once Snuffles had looked around and sniffed at a few things in the Common Room, Harry lead him up the stairs and into the third year boys' dorm room. Harry found his trunk at the end of one of the beds and patted that bed, silently telling Snuffles that he could get up on the bed.

Snuffles leapt up on the bed as Harry sat down next to him. Harry opened both napkins of food and grabbed one of the turkey sandwiches for himself while placing all of the sliced ham he had grabbed from the Great Hall on the napkin in front of Snuffles.

Snuffles slowly ate his way through some of the ham as Harry silently polished off the two turkey sandwiches and was in the process of finishing off the boiled potatoes.

Harry would've liked to tell Snuffles that he wouldn't let another Dementor attack him, but as it was, Harry couldn't even stand up to a Dementor, let alone fight one off. But Harry would try his best to reassure Snuffles during their time here. Hogwarts was his home, and Harry wanted Snuffles to feel safe here. He wanted Snuffles to perk back up into the loveable, friendly, and somewhat mischievous dog that Harry had gotten to know when they were staying at the Leaky Cauldron.

After Harry popped the last boiled potato into his mouth, he looked over at Snuffles who was laying on the bed with his head on his paws, staring at the wall. There was still quite a lot of ham left on the napkin that Harry had given Snuffles. Usually, Snuffles would eat everything he was given and then give Harry puppy-dog eyes, begging for some of Harry's food. Snuffles not finishing his meal was almost as concerning as Snuffles being so subdued.

"Are you finished eating, Snuffles?" Harry asked softly. Snuffles briefly looked at Harry out of the corner of his eyes before turning back to stare at the wall.

Taking Snuffles' reaction as a confirmation that he was done, Harry got up off of the bed and grabbed Snuffles' napkin of food as well as his own empty napkin and discarded them in the room's trash bin. Harry took a moment to grab the partially eaten chocolate bar that Madam Pomfrey had given him out of his pocket and set it down on the nightstand next to his bed before walking to the foot of his bed to get his pajamas out of his trunk. He then walked towards the bathroom to go about his nightly routine of getting ready for bed.

Snuffles hadn't moved an inch from the time it took for Harry to get off of the bed and grab his pajamas to when he returned from the bathroom. Since Snuffles was laying at the foot of the bed, Harry turned down the top of his bedsheets so that he could slip underneath them when he was ready to go to bed.

Snuffles left ear twitched in Harry's direction as Harry crawled over and across the bed, untying the ties that held his bed curtains back and making sure all the curtains around his bed were completely shut. Once the curtains were shut, Harry gently flopped down on top of Snuffles in a boneless heap.

Snuffles groaned softly as Harry squirmed around on top of him until Harry's chin was resting on the top of Snuffles' head with the rest of Harry's body covering most of Snuffles' body.

"You know, this feels pretty comfortable. I think I might just stay right here all night long," Harry teased in a sing-song voice.

This time Snuffles heaved a more theatric groan and rolled over to the side, taking Harry with him. Rather than staying on his side, Snuffles swiftly stood up, gently head-butted Harry's side so that he'd fall over on his back, and then pounced on Harry's stomach; making Harry's breath leave him in a loud whoosh.

"Merlin, Snuffles!" Harry wheezed. "You push at my stomach much harder and I'm going to throw up on you."

Snuffles snorted as he draped himself across Harry's stomach, curling his upper body so that his chin rested on Harry's chest with his nose just brushing against Harry's chin. Harry reached up a hand and started petting Snuffles' head, periodically scratching Snuffles behind his ears. After a few moments of silence, Harry spoke up.

"It's been a long day, Snuffles. I feel like we earned the right to go to bed early. What do you say? Hmm…"

Snuffles snuffled and slowly got up off of Harry, flopped down to the side, and lightly groaned.

"You're starting to sound like an old man," Harry teased as he flipped over and crawled to the head of the bed. "Groaning like that all the time."

Harry got his legs under the sheets and shimmied down until he was flat on his back with the blankets covering him all the way up to his neck. Briefly propping himself up with his elbow, Harry took off his glasses and blindly reached his hand out of his bed curtains until he made contact with his nightstand. Once he set his glasses down next to his wand on the nightstand, Harry scooted over to the very right side of his bed. He patted the place to the left of him as he called for Snuffles to rest beside him.

Harry figured that with how Snuffles had been acting since the Dementor attack, it was very likely that Snuffles, as well as himself, would have either a nightmare or a restless night. It would be better for the both of them if they had someone else within reach so that they'd know that someone was there. Also, Harry was still feeling a bit of the lingering cold from the Dementor, although he could just be imagining that.

Once Snuffles had laid down next to him, Harry placed his hand on Snuffles side and slowly ran his fingers through Snuffles' fur in a comforting motion. Not even five minutes later, Snuffles tensed when they heard the door burst open as Seamus and Dean ran through the door followed more sedately by Ron and Neville. When Harry heard Ron shush the other boys, Harry figured Ron had spotted that he'd already had his bed hangings closed and probably assumed that Harry was sleeping.

Harry continued to pet Snuffles as he listened to the other boys joke around as they got ready for bed. When all of the lights went out about half an hour later, Harry was still petting Snuffles, but he felt himself start to nod off.

About ten minutes later, both Harry and Snuffles were asleep with Snuffles curled in facing Harry and Harry's hand resting on Snuffles' side.

...

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_**

So I debated back and forth with splitting this into two separate chapters (like a part 1/part 2 kinda deal), but then ultimately decided not to split it. So you all get a long chapter ~ Yay!

Also, this chapter introduces some more characters from the world of Harry Potter… And I tried to stick to canon characterization, but if I didn't quite manage it, please forgive me – I tried and the way I wrote them is the way they'll be in this story.

Any mistakes, grammar or otherwise, are my own. Let me know if you see anything that you think needs to be corrected.


	4. Creatures and Classes

**_Author's Note:_**

There are mentions and a description of a bleeding injury towards the end of this chapter. It's not described in great detail or anything, just thought you ought to know…

...

* * *

 **Chapter Four:** ** _Creatures and Classes_**

The next morning, Harry woke with a mouthful of fur.

Sometime in the middle night, both Harry and Snuffles had migrated to the center of the bed with Snuffles taking over the position of Harry's pillow. Snuffles was partially curled up on top of Harry's actual pillow. Harry had his head resting on Snuffles' side with his arms loosely draped around Snuffles' midsection. Harry's legs sprawled out across the bed and one of his feet was dangling off the bed. His pajama shirt was riding up in the back and he had also managed to kick off most of the covers as he slept.

Slowly, so as to not wake Snuffles, Harry got up and quietly backed up off of the bed and through the bed curtains. Harry grabbed and put on his glasses as he glanced out the window to see that the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. He grabbed his clothes for the day and made his way to the showers. On his way, he noticed that Dean and Neville were already up (and most likely already in the showers since they weren't in the room) and Ron and Seamus were still asleep.

Harry greeted Dean with a "good morning" when Dean walked out of the bathroom as Harry was walking in. Harry could hear one of the showers still going, so he assumed that Neville was still in there.

Harry quickly stripped, turned on the water, and walked under the showerhead. He wanted to be in and out relatively fast because he didn't want to leave Snuffles alone for too long, especially since he had yet to introduce him to the other boys (with the exception of Ron) who'd be living with them in the dorm room.

A few moments after Harry heard Neville leave the shower, Harry finished his shower, dried himself off, and got dressed. As Harry left the showers, he almost ran into Ron, who was a bit bleary eyed as he headed off to take a shower as well. Seamus was up and grabbing his clothes from the dresser beside his bed when Harry walked back into the dorm room. Dean was getting ready to head out of the door and Neville was putting some quills and parchment into his schoolbag. Before Dean could leave, Harry called out to the three boys.

"Hey Dean, Seamus, Neville," Harry said. "There's someone I'd like you to meet since he'll also be staying in here with us."

"What do you mean, Harry?" Dean asked, slowly glancing around the room as if looking for someone else.

"W-who?" Neville asked as he stopped messing with his schoolbag.

"You having us on?" Seamus smirked. "Cuz I see no other bed in here."

"He'll be staying with me," Harry said as he started pulling aside the curtains to his bed.

"Oh ho! I didn't know you were like that, mate," Seamus joked, draping his clothes for the day over his shoulder. "Just so long as we don't have to hear what you two lovebirds get up to in the middle of the night, I think we'll be fine."

"Oh, shut up Seamus," Harry griped, somewhat amused and completely unsurprised about where Seamus thoughts had turned. It was exactly like Seamus to suggest something along that line of thought. "It's not like that."

Seeing that Snuffles was awake, Harry indicated that he should sit up.

"This is Snuffles," Harry introduced, stepping aside so that the three boys could fully see Snuffles. "He's my dog and he'll be staying with us here in Gryffindor Tower," Harry turned to look directly at Neville. "I know you knew about him from the train, Neville. But since all of the lights were out, and then with what happened afterwards, you didn't really get to see or meet him," Harry said as he began scratching Snuffles behind his ears.

"That's a pretty big dog," Dean commented. "You've got permission for him to be here, yeah?"

"Yup," Harry affirmed. "I asked Professor McGonagall and she said he can stay as long as he doesn't cause any trouble. And I don't think there'll be any problems because he's a really well behaved dog. And, just to warn you, he can be a bit protective of me and he doesn't like to be petted by people he doesn't know, so maybe ask me before you pet him. Alright?"

"Well, I have no problems with him staying in here with us," Dean said as he adjusted the strap on his schoolbag. "I'll see you all later… Oh!" Dean turned to give Seamus a stern look. "And don't be late for breakfast, Seamus. I'll not be packing up food for you to take to your first class like I did at the end of last year."

"Yeah, yeah," Seamus said, waving him off.

As soon as Dean left the room, Seamus smiled in Harry and Neville's direction, saying, "He always threatens that, but anytime I miss breakfast, he'll turn up beside me in class with some toast or something. He's a good friend… when he's not pretending to be strict."

Turning his attention away from Seamus, Neville looked between Harry and Snuffles.

"Do, erm, do you think I could pet him?" Neville asked hesitantly.

"What do you say, boy?" Harry asked Snuffles as he took his hand away from where he'd been scratching at Snuffles' ears. In response, Snuffles dipped his head down then up and made a snuffling sound.

"I'd say that's a yes," Harry said.

Neville walked over and slowly raised his hand to Snuffles' head and let Snuffles sniff his hand. Snuffles pressed his nose into Neville's hand which led Neville to start gently petting Snuffles.

"He's a very nice dog," Neville said after a moment or two. "And his fur's pretty soft."

"Don't compliment him too much," Harry said wryly. "It'll all go to his head and sooner than later he'll be prancing around here like a peacock."

Snuffles gave Harry a wounded look to which Harry just smiled as Neville laughed at the both of them.

So far, Seamus had been quiet about the dog, which was rather unlike the Irishman. Harry had been expecting some kind of comment about Snuffles, whether it was good, bad, or kind of lewd. Harry turned towards Seamus, who was still in his pajamas standing with his uniform over his shoulder. Seamus was kind of squinting at Snuffles as if he was considering something.

"Seamus?" Harry prompted.

"… You think you could get him to give Malfoy a sound bite on the rear?" Seamus asked as he slowly broke out into a large grin. "I'd say a bite from a dog of that size would certainly discourage that git from being his usual nasty self."

Snuffles snorted loudly and shook his head as Harry laughed and said, "I wish, but I'd rather not get Snuffles kicked out of Hogwarts just as soon as I got him here."

"Ah well, you win some, you lose some," Seamus said before heading towards the showers.

"I'm going to go ahead and head to breakfast," Neville said as he stopped petting Snuffles. "Want to come down with me?"

"Thanks, but I've got to pack some quills and extra parchment and ink into my bag before I can head down. But I'll see you there soon, yeah?"

"Alright. See ya later," Neville said as he grabbed his schoolbag and left the room, almost getting hit in the face with the door as Ron walked back into the room. Neville stumbled back, but Ron caught his arm and kept Neville on his feet.

"Sorry, Nev!" Ron called as he let go of Neville's arm and continued to walk into the room.

"It's fine," Neville responded, waiting for Ron to be completely out of the way of the door before he walked forward again and left the room.

"Mornin' Ron," Harry said as Snuffles watched Harry pack his supplies into his schoolbag.

"Mornin' Harry," responded Ron, flopping back down on his bed with a large sigh before rolling over and bending down to grab his bag from where it had been shoved partially under his bed.

"Are you going to take Snuffles down to breakfast with us?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I figure the sooner people see Snuffles, the sooner they'll get over it and find something else to talk about. Also, I'd rather not have to have Snuffles cooped up in our room for the entire time we're here," Harry said as he threw his bag over his shoulder and patted his leg, silently calling Snuffles to his side.

"Good idea, mate," Ron said, tossing his own bag over his shoulder. "Ready to head down to breakfast? I'm starving."

"Yup! Let's go," Harry said as he walked towards the door with both Ron and Snuffles following behind him.

When they made it down the stairs, they saw that Hermione was waiting for them on one of the couches.

"Good morning, Harry, Ron!" Hermione greeted as she stood up and walked towards them. "And good morning, Snuffles."

"Mornin', 'Mione," Harry said as Ron nodded at her with a tired smile. Snuffles responded with a short bark that drew the attention from the other students who were still lingering in the Common Room. Some were visibly startled at the sight of Snuffles, but there were no cries of outrage at Snuffles' presence, so Harry counted that as a good thing.

"Ah, good morning everyone," Harry said, addressing the room. He wanted to try to stop any potential disasters (and some of the rumors that he knew would be likely to spring up) by giving people information about Snuffles straight from him. Once he had everyone's attention, he continued speaking. "This here is my dog Snuffles. I've got permission from Professor McGonagall to have him here. He's well behaved, but please ask me before you pet him, if you feel the need to, that is."

The other students in the room generally accepted what had Harry said. A few looked a bit unhappy with the situation, but they didn't really say anything aside from a few soft-spoken, unintelligible grumbles.

As Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Snuffles walked towards the portrait opening to leave the room, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan caught up with them.

"Huh, I thought you guys were joking," Lee said to Fred and George as he nodded a greeting to the three third years and the dog.

"We told you Harry has a man-eating dog!" One of the twins said with a large smile.

"Ha ha," Harry said without any emotion. "Very funny, Fred."

Fred just smiled wider at Harry and looped an arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry made a face at that and ducked under Fred's arm, so George came up and ruffled Harry's hair. Fred and George laughed as Harry pulled away from George's hand with an annoyed look on his face. The annoyed look quickly fell away to amusement once Harry was out of the reach of the twins.

"So," Ron said. "Are we going to go down to eat breakfast or what?"

Laughing at Ron's question, they all left the Common Room. As the group of seven made their way through the corridors towards the Great Hall, Hermione fell into step next to Harry.

After a moment, Hermione asked, "How do you always know who is who?"

"What?" Harry asked.

"The twins, Harry. By the time I think I have them figured out – who's Fred and who's George – They go and confuse me once again. You seem to have a knack for telling them apart. So… what's you're secret? How do you know?" Hermione questioned.

"Dunno. I just do," responded Harry unhelpfully, grinning at Hermione.

"Really, Harry…'" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I've got to have some secrets," Harry said.

"One of these days, Harry," Hermione sighed. "One of these days…"

Once they made it into the Great Hall, Fred, George, and Lee made a beeline towards where Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were sitting while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Snuffles meandered towards the open spaces near the middle of the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione sat on either side of Harry with Snuffles ducking under the table to rest his head on Harry's right knee.

Harry went for the sausage links as Ron began spooning scrambled eggs on his plate and Hermione poured herself a glass of orange juice. Of the six sausage links that Harry grabbed, four were immediately passed down to Snuffles. Harry grabbed some hash browns as Hermione was buttering some toast and Ron was swapping the serving dish of scrambled eggs for the large plate of sausage links. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione dished out and then ate their breakfast, all three of them were passing down bits and pieces of their meal down to Snuffles who would move back and forth between them, taking turns resting his head against one of them and whining softly for more food.

"Oh! Harry, you missed Dumbledore's speech last night," Hermione said after she finished a bite of her eggs.

"Yeah? Did he say anything interesting?" Harry asked, passing a few slices of bacon off to Snuffles.

"He said some stuff about the Dementors," Ron chimed in around a mouthful of food.

"Thank you, Ron. That was very informative," Harry said sarcastically. In response, Ron smiled with his cheeks stuffed full of food. Harry gave Ron an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"The guards of Azkaban, the Dementors, will be patrolling around the grounds, so Professor Dumbledore warned us all against trying to go up to them or to try to get passed them. He said that a Dementor will not distinguish between friend and foe," Hermione stated. "He also gave a very specific warning that I think was intended for us, or well, maybe just for you, Harry. He said that an invisibility cloak will not fool a Dementor's gaze."

"It's funny how everyone just assumes that I'll get into trouble, or go searching it out under my invisibility cloak," Harry mused, pausing to take a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Well, to be fair, mate, you have gone out looking for trouble under that invisibility cloak of yours," Ron said and continued to talk over Harry's spluttered protests. "And while you may not have actually gone out with the intention of looking for trouble, you've gotten into some fairly troublesome and _life-threatening_ situations. So, yeah, I can see why Dumbledore called out that warning about Dementors and invisibility cloaks."

"Oh! Here comes Professor McGonagall with our schedules," Hermione interjected excitedly, looking towards where the professors were usually seated at the high table. And, indeed, Professor McGonagall was making her way down the Gryffindor table, pausing to hand out the students' class schedules.

"I can't wait to learn about Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. And I'm also very interested in how Muggle Studies will be taught," Hermione rambled. "With how some witches and wizards view Muggles, I'm sure that –"

"Hold on. I thought you were taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures with us?" Harry interrupted.

"Oh, I am," Hermione said as Professor McGonagall finally reached them and handed them their schedules before continuing on down the table.

"Woah, I think there's something wrong with your schedule, Hermione," Ron said as he leaned forward and glanced over Harry at her paper. "You're supposed to be at two or three classes at the same time in some cases. Let's get McGonagall back over here. She'll sort it out."

"No! Don't," Hermione said shortly. "It's fine."

"Fine," Ron repeated skeptically.

"Yes, I've got it figured out. Don't worry about it," Hermione responded.

"'Don't worry about it'," Ron mimicked in a falsetto voice before lowering his voice to his usual tone and skeptically saying, "How did ya figure that out?"

Ignoring Ron, Hermione turned to Harry and said, "Did you know that Hagrid is now going to be our new Care of Magical Creatures professor?"

"Well, I guess that explains the book," Harry said, scratching Snuffles behind his ear after he rejected the latest sausage link that Harry attempted to offer him. "Who else would assign a book that would rather bite you than let you read it? I'd been wondering why he sent me that book for my birthday."

"I still haven't figured out how to open it. And the poor employee at Flourish & Blotts who had to help me get the _Monster Book of Monsters_ had no clue how to either. His hands were all wrapped up and he looked physically pained when I said I needed a copy of it," Hermione said.

After Harry finished his last bite of hash browns, he said, "I'm going to take Snuffles back up to the Common Room. Snuffles is acting more like his usual self this morning, but he was really shaken up by the incident on the train yesterday so I think that some more rest for him this morning while I'm stuck in classes would probably work wonders; then maybe I'll go talk to Hagrid after classes are done for the day and see if he'd be willing to let Snuffles hang out around his cabin during the day, or kinda keep an eye on him if I let him roam around the grounds since I can't take him to my classes with me. Also, I think he'd get really bored of just sitting in the hall and waiting outside of whatever class I'd be in at the time."

"Want us to wait for you here, Harry?" Ron asked, dishing out another serving of scrambled eggs on his plate.

"No, you guys can go ahead and go to class after you've finished eating if you want to," Harry said, hunching down to look at Snuffles who was still under the table. "Ready to go?"

Snuffles 'woofed' his confirmation lightly. The sound of all the students talking covered the sound of Snuffles' soft woof, so no one looked over at them when Snuffles barked.

"Actually, I'm done as well, so I think I might head to the classroom right now. I'll see you both at Divination in a few minutes," Hermione said as she fiddled with the chain of the necklace that she was wearing before putting her schedule in her school bag and standing up.

Harry also got up and let Snuffles hop over the bench to land on the floor next to Harry. With everyone busy still eating, no one really noticed the reappearance of Snuffles.

Harry and Hermione left the Great Hall together with Snuffles, but then Hermione branched off to go to the North Tower where the Divination classroom is located. Snuffles and Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower by themselves.

...

After Harry left Snuffles in the room on his bed, with permission to explore the Common Room if he wanted to, but not to leave Gryffindor Tower, Harry wandered towards where he thought the Divination classroom in the North Tower was located.

Harry happened to run across Ron on his way to their first class, but unfortunately, neither he nor Ron knew exactly where the Divination classroom was at, apart from it being somewhere in the North Tower. Luckily, or rather unluckily, they managed to catch the attention of a mad knight in a painting who, after trying to challenge them to a duel, offered to help lead them on a 'quest' to the Divination classroom. Although Sir Cadogan led them to the classroom, Harry and Ron had to spend the entire 'quest to the classroom' listening to Sir Cadogan's mad rantings and ravings about quests, duels, and knighthoods.

Harry and Ron finally made it to where the other students who'd be taking the class with them were congregated. Spotting the boys, Hermione walked over to them, and when Ron and Harry asked where the classroom was, Hermione pointed up. On the ceiling, there was a trap door with the words ' _Prof. Trelawney: Divination Classroom'_.

"So, how do we get up there?" Harry asked, and as if that was the cue, the trapdoor opened and a ladder unfurled from it. When no one made a move towards the ladder, Harry walked up to it saying, "Right then, I guess I'll go first," and then he started climbing upwards.

Following behind him was Ron, then Hermione, and then the rest of his classmates. Upon entering the room, Harry waved his hand back and forth in front of his face as he was overwhelmed by the amount of incense (and the smoke from the burning incense) that was hanging as a heavy fog in the air.

While Trelawney was making her dramatic entrance and equally dramatic introductory speech about the subject of Divination, complete with predicting that Neville would soon break a teacup (and he did), Harry couldn't help but wonder about how Snuffles was doing all by himself back in Gryffindor Tower.

 _'I hope he's doing okay. I mean, I know he was fine on his own before I found him,'_ Harry thought before slightly tilting his head to the side, looking at Professor Trelawney but not really listening to her as he considered what he knew about Snuffles. _'Or well, maybe he wasn't entirely fine on his own since he was a starving stray when I stumbled across him. But we haven't really been separated since I found him and he found me. So, I hope he's not getting too lonely… or getting into too much trouble. Although after the Dementor on the train, he hasn't been as…lively? Is lively the word I'm searching for? Well, he isn't as lively as he was when we were staying at the Leaky Cauldron. Hopefully, with time, he'll put the chill of that creature behind him. And I hope I can do the same.'_

Harry started to pay attention to Trelawney again just in time to hear her instructions about tea leaf readings. So, after he poured the hot water and stirred the loose-leaf tea in his cup for a minute or two, he drank it down to the dregs, slightly scalding his tongue, and switched his cup with Ron.

Harry opened his copy of _Unfogging the Future_ and stared dubiously into the cup before referencing the pages of his book.

"Alright, it looks like you've got a tilted cross, and that means…" Harry trailed off to find the correct image and then read the definition of it directly from his book. "…That you're going to have some 'trials of suffering'. And this sun you've got is for… 'great happiness'," Harry said before he looked across the table at Ron. "So you're gonna suffer, but you're going to be very happy about it."

"Great," Ron drawled sarcastically. "I think that you might need to get your Inner Eye checked."

Harry scrunched up his nose as he made a face at Ron. Ron responded by making a face back at Harry.

"Now let's see here," Ron turned his attention to Harry's tea cup and his own book. "This blob looks a bit like a bowler hat, so maybe you'll end up working at the Ministry of Magic," Ron joked before becoming slightly more serious. "But if it's flipped upside down, it kinda looks like an acorn and that's… 'a windfall, unexpected gold'. Nice! You can lend me some. And this thing here," Ron squinted at the cup. "Well, it looks like some type of animal. A hippo maybe? Or a sheep?"

"And you say that I need my Inner Eye checked," Harry said amused.

Suddenly Professor Trelawney was swooping over to their table like an overgrown bird and snatched Harry's cup from Ron's hands, saying, "Let me see that, my dear."

"Ah, the falcon," Trelawney said after a moment of staring intently into Harry's cup. "You have a deadly enemy."

"Everyone knows that," Hermione scoffed. Harry and Ron turned their gazes towards her.

"Well, they do," Hermione defended. "Everyone knows about Harry and You-Know-Who."

Professor Trelawney continued on as if she hadn't heard Hermione speak up.

"The club signifies an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup. And this here is the skull," Trelawney turned to gaze woefully at Harry. "Danger is in your path, my dear."

"Danger always seems to be in my path… along with trouble," Harry muttered quietly. "I don't need tea leaves to tell me that."

Hermione smiled a little at Harry's comment, but soon their attention was back on Professor Trelawney who shrieked as she practically threw the cup away from her.

"What?" Harry questioned, not entirely sure if he actually wanted to hear whatever doom-and-gloom thing she was predictably going to say.

"My poor boy, it is… No… it's kinder not to say it," Trelawney stuttered out dramatically. "I shouldn't… No, don't ask me to tell you."

 _'If you don't want to say it, then why put on the big show_?' Harry thought. _'You're pretty much begging someone, like me, to ask about whatever it is that you saw in my cup.'_

Rather than Harry, or even Ron or Hermione, asking about whatever it was in Harry's cup that had Professor Trelawney all flustered about, Dean spoke up, since Trelawney's actions had caught the attention of the entire room.

"What is it, Professor?" Dean asked. The rest of the students remained silent as they watched the dramatic scene between Harry and Professor Trelawney unfold.

"My dear," Trelawney addressed Harry ominously. "You have the Grim."

 _'Oh no, not this Grim thing again,'_ Harry thought. _'It's like the thing in Diagon Alley with Snuffles all over again. Hey! Maybe I should've brought Snuffles to this class with me. That would've been a laugh since Trelawney's acting like this over tea leaves. I wonder how she would react if she saw Snuffles?'_

Seeing that Harry appeared unaffected by her dramatic telling, Professor Trelawney cried out, "The Grim, my dear! The Grim! It is an omen, the worst kind of omen! It is the omen of death!"

 _'I already know that! I read all about Grims this summer since almost everyone seems to be under the impression that Snuffles is a Grim.'_

"Or maybe, it's an omen that Snuffles is going to cause some kind of trouble for me," Harry muttered mutinously under his breath causing Hermione to roll her eyes. Ron, who had looked worried as Trelawney was speaking, started laughing only to cover it up by pretending he was having a coughing fit.

Trelawney didn't even seem to notice that Harry wasn't taking her warning seriously since just about every other student in the room, with the exception of Ron and Hermione, was looking at Harry as if he was going to drop dead right then and there.

Needless to say, Harry couldn't wait for this class to end.

...

While Harry was in Divination and all of the rest of the students in Gryffindor were at one class or another, since it was the first class period of the day, Snuffles decided to put his unsupervised time to good use.

After Harry left Snuffles in the dorm room, Snuffles waited a few minutes on Harry's bed, just to make sure that none of the other third year Gryffindor boys would be coming back into the room, before leaping off of the bed to start his investigation the room by sniffing around.

Literally. Sniffing.

Snuffles was just thankful that the boys in Harry's year were mostly hygienic because his investigation around the room could've been worse. At least he wasn't having to smell things he'd rather not have to smell. Just thinking about some of the things that he used to leave around his old room when he was Harry's age made Snuffles shudder in disgust.

Starting over in Ron's area, Snuffles thoroughly scanned and sniffed around Ron's bed, then his trunk, then his dresser, and then his desk. The rat's scent was strongest on Ron's bed, which was making Snuffles more enraged than he already was.

That rat was staying with the kid, with Harry's best friend, and that bastard had the gall to actually sleep in the same bed as a thirteen year old. And Snuffles had no doubt that it had been going on for a lot longer than just last night. Which made it infinitely worse.

 _'If that rat bastard has ever, EVER, touched the kid in any inappropriate way, he'll be begging for death by the time I'm through with him.'_

Just to be safe, Snuffles wandered around to the other boys' areas, sniffing for the rat's scent. And, upon finding nothing, Snuffles returned to the area between Ron and Harry's beds.

 _'To think that that rat has been so close to Harry all the time he's been here at Hogwarts just sends chills racing down my spine. Merlin, the what-if's alone – what that bastard could've done to Harry and no one would've known what was going on, what had happened, until it would've be too late. I will not leave Harry, not while that rat is still free.'_

Once Snuffles had confirmed that the rat appeared to just stay with Ron and wasn't in the room at this time, Snuffles padded over to the door and abruptly stopped and sighed, staring at the door. The firmly shut door.

 _'Great,'_ Snuffles thought as he glared at the door, willing it to open. _'That's just fan-freaking-tastic. Gee, thanks, Harry, I thought you said I could go explore the Common Room, but how am I supposed to do that when you've shut the door.'_

Taking a moment to be paranoid and glance around the room to make sure that no one, living person, ghost, or portrait, was in sight, Snuffles transformed.

Snuffles was gone and in his place stood Sirius Black.

The shift from dog to person, especially after long periods of time as a dog, was always disorienting for a moment or two as his senses adjusted. Sirius rubbed a hand over his face before running it through his hair. He paused. His hair was a lot longer than he thought it was.

"I need a haircut," Sirius hoarsely murmured, shaking out his hair and gazing mournfully at a section of his lanky locks before clearing his throat. "Actually, I need to find a rat first."

Sirius pulled the door open a bit and quickly turned back into Snuffles. Using his nose to further open the door, Snuffles walked out of the room and over to the staircase, leaving the door partially opened behind him.

Making his way down the stairs, Snuffles decided to check around the Common Room for the rat just in case Harry's friend decided not to take it with him to his classes. Before he entered the Common Room, Snuffles abruptly stopped in the shadows of the stairwell, just out of sight of the Common Room. After a few moments of hearing nothing, Snuffles figured that there were no Gryffindor students left in the Tower. All of them were probably in their first period class.

Knowing that he'd have to be careful and continue to act like the dog he was pretending to be for the benefit of the gossip-loving figures in the portraits that decorated the room, Snuffles slowly wandered around the Common Room. Sniffing around a few areas before flopping down in front of the fireplace to use his hind paw to scratch behind his ear, Snuffles discretely looked around the room. Seeing that most of the people in the portraits were not watching him, not paying any attention to him at all, really, Snuffles continued with his investigation of the Common Room.

The only thing that Snuffles found were a few Cauldron Cake wrappers under one of the armchairs, and Snuffles was sure it was only a matter of time before one of the house elves found the mess and cleaned it up.

 _'Although the rat wasn't in the Common Room or in Harry's room, that doesn't mean that he's not somewhere else in this tower. Or that he doesn't have other hiding places somewhere else in the castle,'_ Snuffles thought as he padded back over to the stairs leading to the boys' rooms.

Snuffles decided to snoop around the other Weasleys' rooms, but, unfortunately, Snuffles didn't know what year the other boys were in. So, he'd have to check out all of the rooms. Just in case.

Snuffles took to the stairs and made his first stop at the first year boys' room. Once again running into the obstacle of a closed door, Snuffles was thankful that the portraits were only hung in the Common Room. Snuffles turned into Sirius for a brief moment, just long enough for Sirius to reach out and open the door a bit, before Sirius was once again Snuffles.

Nosing his way into through the door, Snuffles quickly searched around the room and, upon finding nothing related to the rat, Snuffles left the room; transforming back into Sirius long enough to close the door.

Snuffles did the same thing for the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh year boys' rooms. He'd approach the room, survey his surroundings, transform into Sirius to open the door, transform back into Snuffles to check out the room, and then briefly transform back into Sirius to close the door behind him.

Since Snuffles found no trace of the rat in any of the other boys' rooms in Gryffindor Tower, he would have to continue his search with the girls' rooms. Snuffles was pretty sure that the youngest Weasley, the girl, was a first or second year, but he wasn't entirely sure. So, just like he did for the boys' side, Snuffles decided to check all of the girls' rooms, even though he knew there was little to no chance that he'd find anything related to the rat on the girls' side. He had to be sure.

Although the stairs to the girls' rooms wouldn't allow any boy to pass, Snuffles already knew a way for him to get around that particular problem.

Back when he was a student at Hogwarts, he and James (well, it was more James than him), needed to figure out how to get up to the Gryffindor girls' rooms. It had taken a lot of trial and error (and earned many disapproving looks from Remus when he found out what they were trying to do), but in their seventh year, they succeeded.

The whole plot to get up the 'forbidden staircase', as Sirius and his friends called it after a run in (or rather, a run up) had ended in a loud sliding disaster, started when James decided to do something special for his girlfriend.

James had made a plan to create a romantic date for Lily and himself for Valentine's Day. Since they had just started dating that year, James wanted to do something memorable; so he decided to make a scavenger hunt of sorts that would lead Lily around the castle, taking her to places that meant something to the both of them (such as where they shared their first kiss, the corridor where Lily actually pranked James – much to his shock at the time, their favorite study table in the library, and other places that had special meaning). The hunt would end with a picnic by the lake where James would have charmed the area to be warm and dry.

But James' elaborate plan started with giving Lily the first clue to the hunt, and since this Valentine's Day was meant for just the two of them, he didn't want to obviously involve anyone else. James wanted to personally give Lily the first clue, but that wouldn't work because he needed to be waiting for her at the picnic spot by the lake. Also, he was afraid that she'd make him 'spill the beans' and tell her all about the hunt if he actually gave her the first clue in person.

So, the solution James that came up with was to put the first clue somewhere where only Lily would be able to get her hands on it and somewhere where she would find it relatively early in the day.

After having been rebuffed by Alice, one of Lily's roommates, when they asked for help with the set up ("Really Sirius?! Did you have to ask her like that? Now she thinks we're ' _up to something_ '!" "… We kinda are, Prongs." "Yeah, but not like _that_ , Padfoot. We aren't looking to prank the girls in their own room."), James enlisted Sirius' help ("You ruined my chance to get help from Alice or any of the other girls since, because of you, Alice warned them away, so now you're going to help me get up there. And no! You don't have a choice.").

They considered getting help from the other two Marauders, but, because it involved sneaking into the seventh year girls' room, they decided to keep what they were doing, or trying to do, a secret. Even though their intentions were good, they'd rather not put Remus in a position where he'd have to choose between them and his duty as a Gryffindor prefect (at least in this specific instance). As for Peter, well, he couldn't keep a secret to save his life. James didn't want risk Peter ruining the surprise he had planned for Lily.

So, after having multiple failures with trying to go up the stairs (and having the girls of Gryffindor get progressively more and more annoyed with every attempt they made, since an alarm sounded and the stairs turned into a slide), James had an epiphany one night about a four days before Valentine's Day.

One moment he had been pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in the Common Room, aggressively running his hands through his hair as he was desperately trying to think of a solution, then he stopped moving as he stared at something across the room. All of a sudden, he started practically dancing around the room, obviously excited about something but unwilling to tell anyone what it was. Later, James approached Sirius with his major breakthrough and together they made a plan to try out James' latest idea.

The next morning, James and Sirius skipped Binns' boring history class to try out James' idea. And since this idea he had involved a major secret, Sirius and James cleared out the Common Room of any remaining students by declaring that anyone left in Gryffindor Tower would be their next pranking target. Then they obscured the sights of the portraits in the room by creating an opaque shield around them and the girls' stairwell. The figures in the portraits huffed and complained about the shield, but other than that, did nothing to stop the boys.

The night before, James had realized that one of the fourth year girls had a cat, a _male_ cat, which came and went as it pleased. Sometimes the cat came down to the Common Room with the girl just to turn around and go back up the stairs to the girl's room all by itself.

And if a male cat could go up and down the girls' stairs whenever it wanted to, well, what was to stop a male dog from doing the same?

Since James' animagus form was too big to fit up the stairs, Sirius had to be the one to transform and test out the idea. So, after making sure that no one could see them, Sirius transformed into a dog and cautiously placed a paw on the first step of the staircase. When nothing happened, Sirius placed another paw on the second step before deciding to just go for it and leapt up onto the stairs.

James had let out a loud cheer when the stairs did nothing and there was no alarm sounding. Sirius continued to climb all the way up to the top of the stairs before racing back down to briefly celebrate their victory over the girls' stairs.

On Valentine's Day, after all of the seventh year girls went down to breakfast, Sirius snuck up the stairs in his dog form under a disillusionment charm to scatter rose petals around Lily's things and place James' handwritten clue in the middle of her bed.

Remus played his part in James' Valentine's Day scheme during breakfast by asking Lily if he could borrow her notes from Potions class for a moment, just to make sure he copied something down correctly. Immediately after she finished her breakfast, Lily ran up to her room to get her notes and found the rose petals as well as James' first clue. Forgetting all about grabbing her notes for Remus, Lily smiled brightly as she began to figure out where the first clue was going to lead her.

The next Hogsmeade weekend, James bought Sirius and Remus a few rounds of Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks as a thanks for their help in making his and Lily's first Valentine's Day together a great success.

Realizing that he had gotten lost in a memory from his Hogwarts days, Snuffles shook himself and walked over to the girls' stairwell. Snuffles went up the stairs and systematically made a quick check of all of the girls' rooms, first year through seventh year.

Finding nothing, as he suspected he would, Snuffles retreated down the girls' stairs, back up the boys' stairs, and went into the third year boys' room, shutting the door behind him with a press of his forepaws. Snuffles jumped up on Harry's bed and laid down with his head on his front paws.

 _'I had my chance to get the rat at the Leaky Cauldron and on the train, but I didn't want to appear as if I was attacking Harry's friend and that rat probably would've managed to scurry away in the confusion,'_ Snuffles thought. _'That wouldn't've won me any points and I probably would've been taken away from Harry, which is the last thing I want to happen. I have to be near him to protect him from that rat. But, at least I still have the element of surprise… I hope.'_

Snuffles knew he'd eventually come up with a good plan to capture that rat. At first, he just wanted to kill the rat, but now that he's thinking more clearly thanks to Harry's care, Snuffles realized that it's likely he would've had to stay on the run from the Ministry if he went through with killing the rat. And the longer he stayed with Harry, the more he realized that he needed to be here with Harry to keep him safe from more than just the threat of that traitorous rat.

But first, Snuffles needed to prove to himself that he could keep Harry safe from harm by protecting Harry from that rat bastard. And to do that, he needed to catch that rat.

 _'It shouldn't be too hard,'_ Snuffles thought as he closed his eyes, deciding to take a nap before Harry returned. _'After all, I have some experience with making detailed plans for capturing people. Although it was usually James, Remus… and I making plans to catch someone in a prank. But I'll catch him, Harry. And then you'll be safe.'_

...

Once Divination finally ended, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down from the North Tower and towards the Transfiguration classroom. Harry purposefully ignored the heated whispers of his fellow classmates as the group of students made their way through the corridors.

"I'm sure Trelawney just misread your cup or something like that," Ron said to Harry, trying to be reassuring as Hermione fell back behind them a few paces. "Or she just wanted to make a memorable first impression."

"Yeah... I probably won't just drop dead all of a sudden, but it's still a bit alarming to be told that I have a death omen hanging over my head," Harry responded.

"I mean if something happens, it'll happen. But I doubt anything _really_ bad will happen," Ron paused, squinting slightly and tilting his head to the side, considering something. "Although, with the way our first and second year turned out for you, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if you, well, if we got into some kind of trouble before the end of the school year."

Harry gave Ron an offended look, saying, "It's not like I go looking for trouble."

"Of course you don't, but that doesn't stop trouble from finding you, mate. Right, Hermione?" Ron asked, turning back towards where Hermione had fallen behind a few steps, only to find that Hermione wasn't behind them anymore. Both Ron and Harry stopped walking.

"Hermione?" Ron called out before looking over at Harry. "She was just right there, wasn't she?"

"Yeah," Harry said, looking around at the rest of the third years from his Divination class who were continuing down the hallway towards Transfiguration. "She was right behind us not even a minute ago."

"Where do you think she disappeared to?" Ron asked.

"I dunno. But I'm sure she wouldn't miss Transfiguration. Maybe she left something behind in the Divination classroom and ran back for it?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah," Ron agreed as the both began walking towards their next class once again. "That makes sense. I guess we'll just meet up with her in the classroom in a little bit."

After a moment of walking in silence, Ron spoke up again.

"So… If you do happen to just, oh, I don't know, suddenly drop dead in Transfiguration," Ron said with a teasing glint in his eyes. "I can have your broom, right? It'd be such a waste, leaving a perfectly good Nimbus 2000 to just collect dust."

Harry quickly punched Ron in the shoulder.

"Ha. Ha," Harry deadpanned. "Just for that, I think I might demand to be buried with it."

Rolling his eyes, Ron rubbed his shoulder at the spot where Harry had hit him.

"Bloody hell, Harry. That hurt…" Ron moved his hand from rubbing his shoulder to press it against his chest. "Right here," Ron said, his tone taking on a weepy quality. "To know that you would sentence a broom like that to an early grave."

"Well, then I suppose you'd best write up a fitting eulogy for it… and for me," Harry responded, his lips twitching as he fought back a smile at Ron's antics.

"Buried alive! How could you do such a thing to such a fine broom?!" Ron wailed before a snort of laughter escaped him and he turned to grin at Harry.

"Come on, you loon," Harry said, shaking his head in resigned amusement and starting to walk a bit faster. "We're going to be late and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have Professor McGonagall turn me into a pocket watch so that 'one of us might be on time'."

"Blimey," Ron said, picking up his pace to catch up with Harry. "You still remember her threat from that time in first year when we were late to her class."

"Obviously you remember it too," Harry retorted.

"Well, yeah! It was a bit scary at the time, ya know," Ron shuttered. "Very effective. And memorable."

"I think that was her intention," Harry said as they approached the classroom door. "And she's had years of practice to get it right."

"True," Ron agreed.

Harry walked through the door first, closely followed by Ron, only to abruptly stop, causing Ron to run into Harry's back.

"Oi!" Ron quietly exclaimed. "Warn a guy before you just stop like that."

"Hermione's here," Harry said, walking over to the row of desks that Hermione was sitting at and sliding in next to her.

Ron followed along and slid in beside Harry. As Harry was grabbing his Transfiguration textbook out of his bag, Ron leaned over him and cleared his throat emphatically. Hermione turned away from the section of her textbook that she was reviewing to look over at Ron.

"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked.

"You were just walking with us from Divination. How did you get here before us?" Ron asked as Harry also turned to look at Hermione.

Hermione sighed and said, "You two were talking to each other so I just continued on ahead. I guess you didn't notice."

"Oh," Ron said sheepishly.

Hermione gave Ron and Harry a pointed look before turning back to look at her book.

"Have either of you read the first chapter of the text for Transfiguration yet?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, no. I haven't," Ron responded, sounding unconcerned.

"Ron! Really…" Hermione sighed.

"Hey! She hasn't assigned us to read anything yet, so I wasn't about to read a section of boring text if I didn't have to," Ron said, reaching around inside of his schoolbag for his Transfiguration book. "I mean, I finished the essay she assigned for us to do over the summer, but that's all I did."

When Hermione turned her expectant gaze on him, Harry said, "I kind of did – read, that is. And I finished my essay as well because, you know, I was stuck in Diagon Alley for a while, yeah? And after I got my books, I read through them a bit. So I may not remember all the details, but I think I got the gist of some of the stuff."

Hermione proudly smiled at Harry and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it and faced forward as Professor McGonagall shut the classroom door and entered the room.

"Good morning class. Now, before we begin with any new material, we'll go over a brief review of what you learned in here last year. If you would all hand in the essays, I assigned at the end of last term, then we will get started," Professor McGonagall said as she stood in front of her desk at the front of the classroom.

Unfortunately, while Professor McGonagall was collecting everyone's essays, most of the students who came from Divination, like Lavender and Parvati, were whispering to each other and continually shooting glances at Harry.

"Silence, please, or I will begin to take house points," Professor McGonagall threatened once she had gathered all of their essays in a neat pile on her desk.

Those who had been whispering had quieted down, but Harry could feel the hair on the back of his neck prickling and knew that some of his fellow classmates were still staring at him.

"Now, who can tell me three fundamental rules to keep in mind when transfiguring an inanimate object, such as a button, to something animate, like a beetle," Professor McGonagall asked, glancing around the room.

Hermione immediately raised her hand, but most of the other students were visibly distracted. Rather than calling on Hermione, McGonagall looked around the room and noticed that Harry seemed to be at the center of most of her students' attention.

"I can tell that, for some reason, you all seem a bit preoccupied," said Professor McGonagall. "What's keeping most of my students from focusing on today's lesson? Hmm?"

Hermione slowly lowered her hand back down to the desk.

After a moment or two of awkward silence, Dean spoke up, saying, "We've just come from Divination, Professor. And, well…" Dean trailed off, looking meaningfully at Harry.

"Ahh… So, whose death has been predicted?" asked Professor McGonagall, sounding somewhat amused.

Slowly, Harry raised a slightly shaky hand. He hadn't been expecting Professor McGonagall to know about the prediction. It was bad enough that he'd just had to endure a class period of his classmates giving him looks that alternated between pity and worry after Trelawney announced his imminent death to the entire class. Harry had hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with this in Transfiguration, but it looked like Trelawney's prediction was determined to follow him. Hearing that he had a death omen hanging over his head was alarming, having it follow him to his next class was even more so. Especially since Professor McGonagall was bringing it up and seemed so causal about it.

"Every year without fail, Professor Trelawney will introduce her third-year class to the subject of Divination by 'predicting' the death of one student in her class. So far, none of her predictions have come true," Professor McGonagall reassured the class. "So, Mr. Potter, you'll have to forgive me when I say that I'll expect you to continue to turn in all of your classwork despite this 'prediction'. However, if Professor Trelawney is proved correct with her prediction, then rest assured, you won't have to turn in any work for my class."

Upon hearing Professor McGonagall say that Trelawney's prediction of his death was most likely false, Harry felt the tension of drain out of his body. He hadn't been aware that he was already so stressed over that prediction until he realized that his upper back felt a bit sore after he let his shoulders relax from their previously tense position.

"Now, Ms. Granger, I believe you raised your hand when I asked about the three fundamental rules of inanimate to animate transfiguration. Would you care to recite the first rule for the class?" Professor McGonagall asked, returning her focus to teaching transfiguration.

"Of course, Professor!" Hermione said enthusiastically. "The first fundamental rule of inanimate to animate transfiguration is that one must have…"

...

Snuffles yelped as he was startled out of his sleep by the bed suddenly moving. Harry had plopped down on the mattress right next to Snuffles.

"Did you have a good nap, Snuffles?" Harry asked as he rubbed at the fur on Snuffles' head.

Snuffles 'woofed' and moved to nuzzle his nose into Harry's stomach.

"I'll take that as a yes," Harry laughed. "So, rather than keeping you cooped up in this room while I'm in my next class, I was think that you might enjoy stretching your legs outside a bit."

After yawning, Snuffles stood up on the bed and shook out his fur. Harry took that as his cue to stand as well and started walking towards the door.

Once Harry made it to the door, he looked over his shoulder only to see that Snuffles was still standing on his bed.

"Well, come on then," Harry called to Snuffles. "I don't want to be late for my next class."

Snuffles jumped down from the bed and happily trotted to Harry's side. The two made their way through Common Room and out of Gryffindor Tower. As they were passing by the Great Hall, they ran into Ron and Hermione who had been waiting there for Harry.

All four of them quickly walked outside and towards Hagrid's hut which was near where Hagrid was holding their Care of Magical Creatures class.

"I mean, I know what Professor McGonagall said about Trelawney just predicting a random students' death every year, but… well, I was thinking about it and you don't think that the Grim she saw in your cup would have anything to do with Sirius Black, do you?" Ron asked. "That can't be a coincidence, right?"

"Oh honestly, Ron! If you ask me, Divination is a very wooly subject," Hermione said as they continued downwards towards Hagrid's hut. "Now, Ancient Runes, that's a fascinating subject."

"Ancient Runes?" Ron asked. "Exactly how many classes are you taking this term?"

"A fair few," Hermione responded.

"Hang on," Ron stopped to look at Hermione, almost tripping over Snuffles as Snuffles and Harry kept walking. "That's not possible," Ron said as Hermione walked past him. "Ancient Runes is at the same time as Divination. You'd have to be in two classes at once."

"Don't be silly, Ronald," Hermione said. "How could anyone be in two classes at the same time?"

"I don't know," Ron said. "You tell me."

"Broaden your mind! Use your Inner Eye to see the future!" Hermione teasingly exclaimed.

"Hey, you guys go on ahead," Harry cut in. "I'll be along in a moment. I'm just going to point Snuffles in another direction and away from the class."

Ron and Hermione nodded at Harry and continued to walk to class as Harry turned and crouched down in front of Snuffles.

"Now you'll have the run of the grounds, but don't come near the class, alright? I don't want you startling whatever it is that Hagrid is probably going to show us. You might get hurt or someone else could get hurt… or you could just get yourself or me in trouble. Although I don't think Hagrid would be too harsh about it. And you should probably stick close to the castle because I'm not entirely sure where the Dementors are at. I don't think they're anywhere near here and I'll have to ask one of the professors about it later, but for now, better safe than sorry. So if you do start to feel unnaturally cold, run for the castle," Harry said as he brushed his hand over Snuffles' head. "Also, I'd rather you not go into the Forbidden Forest. There's a bunch of things in there that could eat you… like gigantic spiders. And take my word for it, you do not want to run into those spiders. If you absolutely have to go into the Forbidden Forest, then, please, for my peace of mind, just stick to the outer edges. Don't go in too far."

Snuffles nodded his head at Harry as if he was agreeing to what Harry had just said. And with what Harry has seen of Snuffles so far, he figured that Snuffles really did understand everything Harry had just said. It was a strange thing to think about – Just how did Snuffles understand English? But Harry wasn't too concerned. With magic, almost anything was possible. A dog that could understand English was a lot easier to comprehend than someone turning a desk into a pig or flying through the air on a broomstick.

Harry stood up and smiled down at Snuffles.

"I'll talk to Hagrid after class is over to see if he could keep an eye out for you if I let you wander around the grounds whenever I'm in class or just whenever you want to go outside. I'm sure you'd eventually get tired of staying inside Gryffindor Tower all the time and I'd rather not see what you could get up to when you get bored or restless," Harry said before looking over at the group of his classmates. "I have to go now, Snuffles, but I'll see you soon. Try not to get into too much trouble."

Giving Snuffles a final pat on the head, Harry walked towards his classmates. Harry paused when he has halfway to his destination, turning his head to look over his shoulder at Snuffles.

Snuffles was already trotting away from Harry and towards the lake.

Harry briefly brushed shoulders with Hermione as he squeezed in to stand between her and Neville while they waited for Hagrid to start their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Ron looked at him from across Hermione and it looked like he was about to say something, but, before he could get a word out, a commotion near the front of the group interrupted them.

"That's it! Gather 'round, gather 'round!" Hagrid greeted enthusiastically as he stood in front of his hut to address the group of students. "Come closer! Less talking if ya don't mind," Hagrid called out to a few chatty students near the back. "I've gotta real treat for ya today. A great lesson! So follow me!"

Harry was the first to fall into step behind Hagrid as Hagrid led the group away from his hut and into the very outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. The trees in this area were a bit sparse, so there was plenty of light from the sun shining down.

"Alright, you lot, less chattering. Form a group over there," Hagrid said, pointing to an open area off to the side of a large clearing. "And open your books to page forty-nine."

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Malfoy asked acidly, holding his _Monster Book of Monsters_ off to the side of him by the belt he had cinched around it.

"Well, just stroke the spine o' course," Hagrid responded as he turned and started walking further away from the spot where he had told the student to form a group at.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped near the front of the area where the group forming.

While Neville was having a bit of a mishap trying to open his book, Ron and Harry stroked the spines of their own books and got them to open with a weird purring sound.

Hermione smiled at the sound her book made as she stroked the spine and opened it.

"It's an interesting way to open a book," Hermione commented, "I think they're funny."

"Oh, yeah, terribly funny," Malfoy interjected loudly from where he stood near the back of the loosely formed group. "Really witty. Merlin! This place has really gone to the dogs! Just wait until my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes."

Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing on either side of Malfoy, laughed at what Malfoy had said.

Slowly, Harry started moving through the group towards Malfoy.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said angrily.

Malfoy looked first at Crabbe and then at Goyle as he laughed mockingly at Harry before grabbing his messenger bag off of his shoulder and handing it over to Goyle. Goyle hadn't been expecting that and almost dropped Malfoy's bag before recovering and placing the bag on the ground beside him. Malfoy walked forward so that he was less than a foot away from Harry.

Malfoy looked confident as he stood practically toe to toe with Harry before he glanced up over Harry's shoulder and became visibly scared. Almost stumbling back away from Harry, Malfoy pointed at something behind Harry and cried out, "De… De… Dementor! Dementor!"

The entire class, including Harry, turned around to see the creature, but came up short to see that nothing was there. Harry turned back around to be faced with the sound of Malfoy and his cronies' jeering laughter.

Then Malfoy and a few of his Slytherin friends hitched their cloaks over their heads, partially covering their faces as they began waving their arms and hands towards Harry, chanting, "oooohhh, oohh, ooooohhhh!"

"Are you going to faint again, Scarhead?" Malfoy cruelly sneered as he brushed his cloak off of his head with a laugh. Taking Malfoy's lead as an example, the four other Slytherins uncovered their heads and smirked.

Ron started forward with a snarl, but was pulled back by Hermione who had grabbed the back of Ron's robes. Making a face at Malfoy, Hermione turned to see Harry looking like he was gearing up for a fight with Malfoy. Just as Harry was about to step forward and say a cutting remark, Hermione stopped him.

"They're not worth it, Harry," Hermione said quietly to Harry as she grabbed the cuff of Harry's sleeve to pull him away. "We don't want to start off Hagrid's first class with a fight. People might take it the wrong way and look at it as if Hagrid can't control his students."

All at once, the fight drained out of him and Harry stopped resisting Hermione's pull as she led him back to the front of the group of their classmates. Ron followed after the both of them, periodically turning back to shoot glares in Malfoy's direction.

"One of these days I'm gonna punch that smarmy git right in the face," Ron growled under his breath as Hermione guided them to a stop.

"Please warn me in advance so that I can be there to see it," Hermione said shortly. "I'll be the first in line to cheer you on."

Hagrid returned at that moment and purposefully cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. He had what appeared to be a string of dead ferrets draped around his shoulders.

"Ta da!" Hagrid announced triumphantly as he presented the creature that had followed him back to the students. Now that he was looking, Harry could see that there were more of the creatures staying together in another clearing from the direction that Hagrid had come from. "Isn't he beautiful? Say hello to Buckbeak!"

The creature had wings, a beak, a tail like a horse, four legs (with claws like an eagles at the end of its two front legs and hooves like a horse at the end of its two back legs), and was covered in grey, black, and white feathers. When it cried out, it sounded similar to a loud bird call.

Hagrid tore off one of the dead ferrets that was draped on a rope across his shoulders and threw it to the creature. The creature caught it with its mouth in midair.

"Hagrid," Ron spoke out against the stunned silence of his fellow classmates. "Exactly what is that?"

"That, Ron," Hagrid spoke as he walked away from the creature and towards the students. "Is a Hippogriff! The first thing you should know about Hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures and very easily offended. You do not want to insult a Hippogriff. It may just be the last thing that you ever do."

Buckbeak was grooming the feathers on one of its wings as Hagrid was speaking.

"Now!" Hagrid clapped his hands together once before turning to look from the students back to the Hippogriff. "Who'd like to come and say hello?"

All of the students almost fell over backwards as they rushed to put as much room between themselves and Hagrid as they could. All of the students, except for Harry, of course. Harry, who was too busy staring at the Hippogriff because it, for some odd reason, was reminding him of Hedwig with the way it was grooming its wing feathers.

"Well done, Harry! Well done!" Hagrid said happily.

Confused about what he just did, Harry looked around only to find that there was no one standing anywhere near him. Harry looked back over his shoulder to find that the rest of his classmates were standing further back by a few feet. Apparently, the entire class just served him up as a sacrifice, or should he say, a volunteer for Hagrid and the Hippogriff.

"Come on, now," Hagrid encouraged when Harry stayed still, looking at Buckbeak and standing stiffly in place, making no move to get closer to the Hippogriff.

Ron took a few steps forward to give Harry a helpful nudge in the middle of his back to get Harry to start going forward. Harry looked over his shoulder for a second to give Ron a half betrayed, half dirty look as he gave in and walked towards Hagrid and the Hippogriff.

"Now," Hagrid began once he saw that Harry was getting closer to Buckbeak. "You have to let him make the first move. It's only polite. So, step up and give him a nice bow," Hagrid demonstrated what the bow should look like. "And then you need to wait and see if he bows back."

Harry slowed down as he was drawing nearer to Buckbeak, feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Although, admittedly, he was feeling more nervous than excited. It was about three parts nerves, one part excitement.

"If he bows back, you can go ahead and touch him," Hagrid continued lecturing. "If not, well… we'll get to that later."

 _'Thanks, Hagrid. That's entirely reassuring,'_ Harry sarcastically thought as he stopped in front of the large Hippogriff, leaving plenty of room between them.

"Now, make your bow," Hagrid prompted Harry from where he stood off to the side as the rest of the class watched on eagerly from behind and at a safe distance.

Harry started to bow.

"Nice and low," Hagrid encouraged as Harry bent himself over at an almost ninety-degree angle and kept his eyes on the ground.

The Hippogriff was watching Harry, tilting its head from side to side, ruffling its wings, and swishing its tail back and forth as it considered him.

Suddenly it cried out, and kept crying out as it opened its wings and flapped them threateningly.

"Back off, Harry! Back off," Hagrid exclaimed quietly as he used a hand indicate that Harry should move back.

As Harry stepped back, he stepped on a short stick. Although the stick made a soft crack as it broke, in the highly stressful situation that Harry was in, it almost sounded like a gun shot. Harry could hear the worried murmurings of his classmates.

Although extremely nervous, Harry maintained his bowed position in front of Buckbeak.

"Keep still," Hagrid said, sounding much calmer than he had a few seconds ago.

Slowly, Harry raised his eyes and tilted his head back to look at the Hippogriff.

"Keep still," Hagrid repeated.

Buckbeak pawed at the ground and screeched at Harry before making a sound that was closer to a cawing-purr. Making the cawing-purr nose again, the Hippogriff slowly bowed down before Harry.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Hagrid laughed. "Well done, Harry. Well done!"

Hagrid grabbed another dead ferret from around his neck and threw it at Buckbeak. The Hippogriff caught the ferret in midair and chomped down hard, turning and trotting a few feet away to finish eating the treat.

Harry stood up from his bow and let out a sigh of relief.

"Right. I think you can go and pet him now," Hagrid encouraged, gesturing towards the Hippogriff. "Go on! Don't be shy."

With the rest of his classmates closely watching him, Harry hesitantly approached the Hippogriff.

"Nice and slow, now," Hagrid said softly. "Nice and slow."

Harry slowly extended his right hand out towards Buckbeak and continued to walk towards the Hippogriff.

"Woah! Not so fast Harry!" Hagrid quickly said as the Hippogriff suddenly flared out its wings and shrieked at Harry. "Slow down, Harry."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Harry approached Buckbeak with his hand still raised towards the Hippogriff.

"Nice and slow," Hagrid said quietly.

When the Hippogriff snapped its beak at Harry, Harry flinched back a little and stopped moving.

"Now let him come to you," Hagrid said as Buckbeak started approaching Harry at a steady pace. "That's it."

As Hagrid kept up a continued mantra of "slowly, slowly", Harry took a few baby steps towards Buckbeak as the Hippogriff continued to come closer to Harry. The Hippogriff bent its head down so that it was on the same level as Harry's extended hand. Once Harry's hand made contact with Buckbeak's head, the Hippogriff made a noise of contentment.

Smiling at his accomplishment, Harry barely heard Hagrid clapping and saying, "Well done, Harry! That was well done!"

Most of Harry's classmates were following Hagrid's example and clapping for Harry as well.

Shocked and relieved to have not been mauled by the creature and proud of his accomplishment in petting the Hippogriff, Harry almost didn't hear what Hagrid said next. Almost.

"I think he may let you ride him now," Hagrid said, walking up to Harry and the Hippogriff.

"What?" Harry asked in disbelief and dawning horror.

"Come on, now," Hagrid said as he lifted Harry up and walked around to the side of Buckbeak.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey!" Harry protested, unable to think of what to say to get Hagrid to put him down and _away from the creature that could conceivably snap him in half_. "Hey, HEY, HEY! HAGRID!"

"I'll set you down over here," Hagrid said over Harry's panicked protesting. "Just below the wing joint."

Setting Harry down on the creature and causing Buckbeak give out a cawing-screech, Hagrid said, "Don't pull out any of his feathers, 'cause he won't thank you for that!"

Hagrid gave Buckbeak a firm smack to the side of the rear which caused the Hippogriff to rear up and make a loud screeching-caw. Harry had to quickly wrap his arms around Buckbeak's thick neck to avoid falling off as the creature stood up on its back legs. The Hippogriff quickly slammed down onto all fours again and charged off at a run away from Hagrid and passing the group of students. As it ran, Buckbeak's wings flared out and started to flap.

Suddenly, Harry found himself in the air on the back of a Hippogriff and couldn't help the loud, "Woah!" that escaped him as the sailed up passed the tops of the trees and away from the excited exclamations of his fellow classmates.

As they passed over Hogwarts and around the castle's tall towers, Harry summoned the courage to loosen his grip around the Hippogriff's neck. As Buckbeak dove down and took them over the lake, brushing the water with its claws, Harry sat up straight and extended both of his arms out to the side.

A bright smile lit up his face and Harry let out a loud exclamation of excitement, "Ha! Woo-hoo! Ha ha! Waa-hoo!"

When Buckbeak started flying back up and away from the lake, Harry lowered himself back down to wrap his arms around the creature's neck once again. They sailed back over towards the trees where Hagrid and his classmates were waiting.

Hearing Hagrid's whistle, Buckbeak slowly descended and eventually landed back in the clearing where they had started.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed over the sound of the other students' clapping as the Hippogriff slowed it landing-run to a stop. "And well done, Buckbeak!"

Hagrid gently lifted Harry off of Buckbeak's back and set him down on the ground. Harry's knees felt a little wobbly after his time in the air, but he was able to lock his knees and stand up straight. Flying on the back of a Hippogriff was very different from flying on a broomstick.

Once Harry was sure that his feet were firmly beneath him, he walked back over to the group of his classmates, making his way towards Ron and Hermione who were smiling at him. Harry smiled back as he brushed his hands through his hair, attempting to tame his now windswept locks.

"Now, who'd like to meet some of the other Hippogriffs?" Hagrid excitedly asked the class before leading Buckbeak and the students over to the clearing where the other Hippogriffs were pacing around.

Harry walked with Ron and Hermione they all followed after Hagrid.

Hagrid repeated his instructions on how to respectfully approach Hippogriffs and encouraged the students to spread out to get closer to the creatures. As Hermione and Ron walked over to a brown and white Hippogriff, Harry hung back and decided to wander around the area while observing his fellow classmates' attempts to interact with the Hippogriffs.

Some of his classmates were rather reluctant to approach the Hippogriffs while others seemed to be really enthusiastic about it. It was somewhat entertaining to watch how some of his classmates would approach the Hippogriffs only to dance away whenever the creatures would make a noise.

Seeing that Neville was struggling to approach one of the Hippogriffs, Harry decided to wander over to him to see if he could help since Hagrid was busy talking to two other students. As he was passing by a few clusters of his classmates and Hippogriffs, Harry thought he heard a bark.

Thinking of Snuffles, and kind of worried that the dog had disregarded his advice and decided to go ahead and approach the class, Harry looked over towards where he thought he heard the bark. Instead of seeing a dog, Harry spotted Malfoy callously and arrogantly swaggering towards Buckbeak.

Like feeling the static before a lightning strike, Harry could practically taste the trouble in the air and he was pretty sure that something bad was about to happen.

Changing his course midway to Neville, Harry, despite not knowing what he was going to do, picked up his pace as he made his way towards Buckbeak and Malfoy. Harry was close enough to hear Malfoy call Buckbeak a "bloody chicken", and, remembering Hagrid's warning about not insulting Hippogriffs, Harry broke out into a run.

Malfoy looked up at an enraged and offended Buckbeak just in time to see the Hippogriff rear up on its hind legs. As Malfoy brought up his arms to protect his face from Buckbeak's oncoming swipe, Harry tackled Malfoy out of the way. Both boys landed hard on the ground with Malfoy landing on his back and groaning as Harry collapsed on top of him with a grunt.

Hagrid suddenly appeared in front of the boys and drew Buckbeak away from them with a few commanding words and a dead ferret.

By this time, almost everyone in the clearing noticed that something had happened. Hermione and Ron were already hurrying over towards Harry.

Biting back a yelp as he attempted to push himself up and off of Malfoy, Harry used his left hand to help get himself up to his feet as he gingerly cradled his right arm close to his body. Once he was back on his feet, Harry looked down at Malfoy. Malfoy had propped himself up on his elbows and was staring up at Harry with unconcealed confusion and disbelief.

"Harry! What happened? Are you alright?!" Hermione exclaimed as she and Ron made it to Harry and completely ignored Malfoy.

"I'm fine," Harry said lightly, turning to look at his concerned friends.

"Harry Potter! Your arm is bleeding! You. Are. Not. Fine!" Hermione worriedly fussed.

"It's not that bad," Harry tried to reassure Hermione and Ron even though he could feel the warm trickle of blood making its way down his arm.

"That looks pretty bad, Harry," Ron quietly said as he stood next to Harry.

Once Hagrid had calmed Buckbeak down, he looked over at Harry and Malfoy.

Malfoy had made it to his feet by himself, not looking any worse for wear, but Harry was standing between Ron and Hermione with his right arm held close to his chest. Harry's right arm had a nasty looking cut that was rapidly bleeding through a tear in Harry's sleeve.

"Alright there, Harry?" Hagrid asked, concerned.

"Hagrid, Harry really needs to go to the Hospital Wing and see Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said urgently as Hagrid walked over to them.

"It's not that bad. Buckbeak just clipped me," Harry said, not wanting to get stuck in the Hospital Wing. "Slap a bandage on it and it'll be fine."

"That's not a 'clip', Harry, he really clawed you!" Hermione disagreed.

"I agree, mate. I think Madam Pomfrey should take a look at that," Ron said, pointing from the oozing cut on Harry's arm to the ground where a puddle of blood was steadily forming. "You're leaking."

"Ron, Hermione, take Harry on up to the Hospital Wing, alright?" Hagrid said. "I have to stay down here with the rest of the class."

"We will, Hagrid," Hermione assured. "Come on, Harry."

Sighing in defeat, Harry slowly (so as to not jar his injured arm) began the long walk to the Hospital Wing as Ron and Hermione fell into step on either side of him.

As they continued to walk towards the castle, Harry realized that Malfoy hadn't said a thing since Harry had tackled him out of the way of Buckbeak's attack.

...

Snuffles continued trotting towards the lake, but once he saw that Hagrid was leading the class towards the Forbidden Forest, Snuffles decided to discreetly trail after them.

Although Snuffles knew that Harry was relatively safe in the castle where there were professors, ghosts, and paintings to keep an eye on him, out here on the grounds, there was much more of a risk. It was only Hagrid out here to keep an eye, not only on Harry, but on the other kids as well. And Hagrid had to split his attention between the kids and whatever creature he was teaching them about. It would be simple for the rat to just stun and snatch Harry whenever everyone was distracted and then run deep into the Forbidden Forest with his hostage.

Snuffles lurked safely out of sight in the background but stayed close enough to hear what was being said and close enough to keep a good watch over Harry.

When Hagrid asked if anyone would like to greet the Hippogriff, Snuffles saw that everyone except for Harry just about tripped over themselves to get away from Hagrid and the creature.

 _'Oh you glorious little trolls!'_ Snuffles thought in exasperated amusement when he saw that Harry had been 'volunteered' by his classmates to be the first to approach the Hippogriff. _'Harry, kid, you need to learn to pay better attention to your surroundings.'_

His amusement quickly faded when Hagrid picked up Harry and put him on the Hippogriff. With his heart in his throat, Snuffles watched as Hagrid slapped the creature's rear and the creature took off with Harry on its back.

Upon seeing that everyone else didn't seem too worried about Harry's flight with a Hippogriff, Snuffles calmed down somewhat, but didn't completely relax until he saw that Harry and the Hippogriff landed on the ground safe and sound.

When the class moved to follow Hagrid over to the area where the other Hippogriffs were residing, so too did Snuffles. Snuffles was trying to keep his distance, but with Harry walking around, that made it hard for Snuffles to keep a close eye on him. So, Snuffles risked coming closer to the class by dodging and weaving between the trees, almost as if he was patrolling the perimeter of the area while simultaneously playing a game of hide and seek.

Snuffles happened to overhear one of the kids making derogatory remarks towards one of the Hippogriffs. Glancing away from Harry, Snuffles saw that the idiotic kid looked a lot like Lucius Malfoy.

 _'I think that's the Malfoy kid that Harry told me about. He's the one who tries to get Harry into trouble all the time… Well, Malfoy might be a little snot, but he doesn't exactly deserve to get trampled by a raging Hippogriff. And that's what's gonna happen if he doesn't stop with the arrogance and the name calling. For Merlin's sake, kid, you're just about as oblivious to your surroundings as Harry is! Can't you see that you're angering that animal?! Where in Merlin's name is Hagrid?! He should be handling this!'_

Seeing that no one, namely Hagrid, was paying attention to the volatile situation that was about to unfold between the Malfoy kid and the angry Hippogriff, Snuffles decided to try to call attention to the situation in the only way he knew how to without exactly revealing that he was there in the first place.

Snuffles barked.

Loudly.

Unfortunately, the only head that his barking turned was the last person that he wanted to get involved in the situation.

Harry.

 _'Of all the times that Harry's been oblivious, he chooses NOW to be aware of his surroundings?! I swear this kid's gonna be the death of me someday,'_ Snuffles thought as he saw Harry turn to look in his direction.

When it became apparent that Harry was the only one to notice the situation and he started running towards Malfoy, it suddenly seemed like everything that Snuffles was seeing was passing in slow motion. Snuffles felt like he'd been frozen. He could only watch in horror as Harry tackled Malfoy out of the way only for Harry to get hurt in Malfoy's place.

 _'I did that.'_

Harry was on the ground.

 _'It was my fault.'_

Harry was hurt.

 _'If I hadn't barked…'_

Harry was bleeding.

 _'He wouldn't've gotten hurt. I shouldn't've… I… What have I done?_

 _…Why…_

 _…Why can I never do anything right?!_

 _Why do my actions always seem to hurt the ones I love?_

 _Why did…_

 _Why did I let…_

 _Why did I let them get hurt?_

 _Why did I let James…_

 _Why did they have to… Why did they have to die?_

 _Why did I let them die?_

 _It's my fault._

 _It's all my fault._

 _James…_

 _Lily…_

 _Harry…_

 _…_

 _No._

 _No, Harry's right here._

 _Harry's hurt… but he's here.'_

When Snuffles snapped back to himself, he realized that Harry was being led away from the area and towards the castle by his two friends.

 _'Harry!'_

Snuffles races out from behind the trees and dashes out across the grounds, moving as fast as he could to catch up to Harry.

Once he managed to catch up, Snuffles had trouble stopping and just about brained himself on the redhead's shins, taking the kid down as Snuffles plowed over him. Snuffles laid on the ground next to the redhead, taking a few shocked seconds to regain his breath.

"Snuffles!" was called out by Harry at the same time that the girl exclaimed, "Ron!"

"Merlin, Snuffles!" Harry exclaimed as he crouched down next to Snuffles and rested his left hand on the dog's heavily panting side. "You came out of nowhere! Are you alright?"

"Gee thanks, Harry," the redhead said sarcastically as he used girl's extended hand to pull himself back to his feet. "I'm fine. It's not like I was just knocked off my feet by a bloody Grim."

"He's not a Grim," Harry automatically denied. "And I think something's wrong with him."

Almost as if to prove him wrong, Snuffles rolled over so that his paws were under him once again. Snuffles got back up as Harry stood up straight.

"Harry, if you're going to have us stop here, then at least raise your arm above your head," the girl said.

Looking confused, Harry raised his left arm above his head.

"Oh! For the love of – Your other arm, Harry!" the girl exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

Harry winced in pain as he raised his injured right arm above is head and brought his left arm down.

"Why am I doing this?" Harry questioned hesitantly.

"It should help to slow down the rate of bleeding from your injury. I read somewhere, I think it was in an article in a medical journal, that if you can, raising a bleeding cut above your heart can help slow bleeding. So, that's why I told you to raise your arm above your head since your head is most definitely at a higher level than your heart," the girl answered rapidly in one breath.

Snuffles couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Harry's injured arm.

"I'm serious, guys. I think something's wrong," Harry said concerned. "With my dog, that is, not with my cut."

"Well, you are injured, Harry," the girl said. "Maybe he's worried? I mean, he seems to be staring at your arm."

"Is that it, Snuffles?" Harry asked. "Did I worry you? Because, I'm fine, really."

Snuffles nuzzled his head gently into Harry's left side.

"We really need to get going, Harry. And since you're currently in the process of bleeding out," the girl was interrupted by Harry's protest of "I'm hardly bleeding out! It's just a simple cut!"

"I think you've lost the privilege of deciding whether or not you're fine so we are going to go to the Hospital Wing and let Madam Pomfrey have a look at you and your _simple_ cut," the girl finished saying.

"Right," Harry resignedly sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Snuffles stayed glued to Harry's side as they all resumed walking towards the castle. When the redhead got a little too close to Harry's injured arm, Snuffles growled and bared his teeth at the boy. The boy jumped slightly and looked over at Snuffles. Harry also looked down at Snuffles and rested his left hand on Snuffles' head.

"Maybe… Maybe you two should keep your distance?" Harry suggested to his two friends as they walked through the castle's main doors and headed towards the corridor that would lead them to the Hospital Wing. "I think Snuffles is a little… anxious about me being hurt, so he's getting really protective."

"Yeah, I'd say," the redhead said. "That growl sounded very vicious."

"Ha!" Harry laughed. "You should've heard the growl he made when the Minister tried to get too close to me."

"Harry!" the girl exclaimed.

"What?" Harry said defensively.

"Honestly," the girl sighed.

Snuffles barely noticed his surroundings, barely took in what was being said by Harry and his friends, because all of his attention was on Harry.

Harry was hurt.

He had to protect Harry.

He failed.

He failed to protect Harry.

Again.

Snuffles only realized that they made it into the Hospital Wing when the redhead tried to separate him from Harry as Harry went to sit down on one of the beds.

Snapping his teeth at the boy and snarling, Snuffles quickly slipped passed the redhead and jumped onto the bed, curling himself protectively around Harry.

"… You know, Mr. Potter, I believe I already told you about my policy of no animals in my Hospital Wing," the older woman said.

Snuffles was keeping a sharp eye on her.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said sheepishly, resting his left hand on Snuffles.

"You're lucky I like you, young man," the woman smiled as she pulled out her wand.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry responded.

"You're about the only one who keeps me in business here, what with all the trouble you find yourself in," the woman teased as she waved her wand over Harry's bleeding arm.

"It's not like I go looking for trouble!" Harry protested.

"I'll have you right as rain in no time, Mr. Potter," the woman assured.

"Thank you," Harry said sincerely.

Snuffles curled a little tighter around Harry, determined to keep him from further injury.

He wouldn't let Harry get hurt. Not again. Not if he could help it.

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

When Sirius is in his animagus form, he'll be referred to as Snuffles. When he's not in his animagus form, then he'll be referred to as Sirius.

And after Snuffles had that panic attack over Harry getting hurt, he went into a kind of panicked protective mode where he viewed the people around Harry as a potential threat. So that's why, instead of saying 'Hermione', she referred to as 'the girl. Same for 'Ron' and 'redhead/boy'. And 'Madame Pomfrey' as 'the woman'. Snuffles will come back to himself again – remember, he's bound to have… let's say, episodes, where he seems a little, well, when he seems not like himself. Azkaban Prison is a nasty place, folks. It's bound to leave scars, mentally and physically. Also, Snuffles/Sirius is feeling really, really guilty.

Any mistakes, grammar or otherwise, are my own. Let me know if you see anything that you think needs to be corrected.


	5. Well, That's Strange

**Chapter Five:** ** _Well, That's Strange_**

Snuffles was acting… off.

Which wasn't that unusual since Harry knew that Snuffles was different from the average, every day kind of dog. After all, not every dog could understand the English language like Snuffles seemed to. And sometimes the things that Snuffles did… weren't exactly dog-like behaviors.

But that's okay. Snuffles was a unique dog and that's perfectly fine because Snuffles was Harry's friend and that was all that Harry needed to know.

But sometimes, just sometimes, Harry would really like to know what was going on inside his dog's head, instead of having to just guess at why Snuffles was acting the way he was.

In fact, right now would be an excellent example of a time when Harry really wished that he could read his dog's mind.

Because, right now, Snuffles was playing the part of a particularly prickly dragon guarding its hoard to perfection.

With Harry being the hoard.

It was becoming slightly ridiculous.

"Ease up, Snuffles! Madam Pomfrey's just trying to help," Harry said in response to Snuffles growling louder as Madam Pomfrey came closer to them. "You were fine with her just a minute ago when she was waving her wand around me and using magic to stitch me back together, but _now_ you're having a problem with her? She just left to grab a potion for me…" Harry trailed off as he reached for the potion, but when Madam Pomfrey moved to hand the potion bottle to him, Snuffles somehow managed to growl at an even high volume. "…And now she needs to hand it to me, so stop growling at her. I am so serious right now. Knock it off," Harry finished saying with a slightly strained smile in Madam Pomfrey's direction.

Madam Pomfrey was standing just out of reach of Harry and Snuffles. Probably because Snuffles was continuing to growl viciously at her. Harry was starting to develop a headache.

Sighing loudly, because was all of this fuss _really_ necessary, Harry promptly bopped Snuffles on the nose. Snuffles stopped growling with a yelp of surprise and looked up at Harry in confusion. In return, Harry rested his hand firmly on Snuffles' head, a silent warning to quit growling.

Madam Pomfrey took that time to hand Harry a small, uncorked bottle full of a potion that Harry just knew was going to taste disgusting. Harry glanced up at Madam Pomfrey, wondering what the potion was, but unwilling to ask. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what it was.

"That is a blood replenisher, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, answering Harry's unasked question. "You've lost enough blood as it is, so I feel that this potion is now necessary."

Under Madam Pomfrey's steady gaze, Harry reluctantly raised the bottle to his lips and swallowed the contents with a grimace. Shuttering in disgust at the taste, Harry handed the empty bottle back to her.

Snuffles started growling again when Madam Pomfrey reached for the bottle in Harry's hand.

"Don't start that again," Harry quickly said as he jostled Snuffles with his elbow. Snuffles stopped growing and was instead baring his teeth at Madam Pomfrey with his ears pulled back.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey began sternly as she took the empty potion bottle from Harry. "That dog of yours…"

"I know and I'm really sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Harry apologized sincerely. "He's… it's just… I don't know what's gotten into him, but I think it's to do with the fact that I got injured. He hasn't actually attacked anyone," the _yet_ was left unsaid "and I think this is just his way of trying to protect me from further harm?" Harry raised his voice in a question at the end of his sentence because he really didn't know why Snuffles was acting so aggressive towards everyone. Harry just assumed that it was because he got hurt since Snuffles had been acting fine until the dog ran into Harry as he was leaving Care of Magical Creatures with Ron and Hermione.

Madam Pomfrey looked disapproving as she placed the empty bottle down on a small table near the bed and pulled out her wand once again.

As Madam Pomfrey was preforming a spell that would tell her if the potion was working, Harry subtly shifted so that he could glance around her to see Ron and Hermione awkwardly leaning against one of the closed doors of the Hospital Wing. From his spot on the bed, Harry could make out Hermione biting her lip in concern and Ron's brow furrowed in worry.

Harry truly appreciated their concern, but, honestly, it wasn't like he was dying. It was just a small scratch… that would've likely required stitches had this been a Muggle hospital. Okay, maybe their concern was a bit justified.

"Alright, Mr. Potter. I'll release you on the condition that you take it easy," Madam Pomfrey said, putting her wand away. "I'm serious, young man. I don't want to see you strain yourself and somehow manage to injure that arm again. And if your dog continues to act as hostile as he has been, then I'm afraid I'll have to ban him from entering the Hospital Wing. This is a place of rest and healing, not a place for aggressive animals."

"I understand, Madam Pomfrey," Harry responded quietly.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes soften before she walked back over to her office and shut the door behind her.

Ron pushed himself off of the door that he was leaning on and walked closer to Harry, but still out of range of Snuffles.

"We should probably get going, yeah?" Ron suggested as Hermione also came over and stopped beside him.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, trying to get up but, apparently, Snuffles was having none of that.

Snuffles was firmly curled around Harry and completely unwavering. When Harry tried to get off of the bed, Snuffles curled up tighter around him and made a warning growl in the back of his throat.

Sighing, Harry looked over at his friends and asked, "Do either of you have a crowbar handy? It's likely I'll not be getting up without one."

"… A crowbar?" Ron asked.

"Maybe you should just ask him to let you up? Like you've said before, he seems to listen to you… most of the time," Hermione suggested.

"Come on, Snuffles," Harry said, addressing the dog. "You heard Hermione. Let me up, please."

Snuffles didn't move.

"I'm fine now, boy. Madam Pomfrey fixed me all up and I'd really like to get out of here. The Hospital Wing is not my favorite place to be. If you don't let me up soon, Madam Pomfrey might come back out and decide to keep me here overnight for observation. And I really don't want that," Harry said.

Nothing. Snuffles didn't show any signs of having heard what Harry said.

Harry was starting to feel a bit embarrassed since he was just about begging his dog to listen to him in front of Ron and Hermione.

"Alright. I'm going to get up whether you want me to or not," Harry said in a firm voice. "If I'm forced to pry you off of me, then it's likely I'll strain my arm further, but if that's what it takes, then I'll do it."

After a second or two, Snuffles finally moved.

As Snuffles uncurled from around Harry, Harry quickly leapt up off of the bed, not giving Snuffles a chance to change his mind. Snuffles, looking downtrodden, jumped down and pressed himself up against Harry's legs.

"Ready?" Harry asked, walking up to his friends with Snuffles following close behind him.

"Yup! Let's go!" Ron said enthusiastically as they all walked to and then through the doors of the Hospital Wing. "I've starving!"

"Honestly, Ronald," Hermione sighed in exasperation. "You're always hungry."

...

Later that evening, after they had finished eating their dinner and the sun was starting to set, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Snuffles were walking out of the castle and on their way to visit Hagrid.

Snuffles was shuffling despondently right behind Harry, growling whenever Ron would get within an arm's length of Harry (which is what Snuffles had been doing ever since Harry had left the Hospital Wing, much to Harry's displeasure). Ron and Hermione were walking beside each other with Harry walking a few paces behind them to keep space between Snuffles and Ron. Harry was somewhat ignoring the conversation between Ron and Hermione since the two of them were bickering once again.

"You have to keep your cat away from Scabbers!" Ron demanded. "I was barely able to grab Scabbers before your menace of a cat got to him. Poor Scabbers was scared witless after being chased all around the Common Room."

"Then you should keep your rat away from Crookshanks," Hermione practically hissed. "And quick calling him a menace."

"Well, he's menacing Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed. "When he quits doing that, then I'll quit calling your cat a menace."

Hermione took a deep breath, visibly calming herself down, before saying, "Look, I've been trying to keep Crookshanks contained in my dorm room, but he likes to roam around the castle when I'm not in the Tower and I'm not the only one who lives in my room, so when the other girls come and go, he usually wanders out the door. Maybe you should keep your rat in your dorm room or in your pocket. He doesn't need as much room to roam as my Crookshanks does."

"Just because he's smaller than your cat, doesn't mean that Scabbers doesn't like to wander about the Common Room too! And Scabbers has been here longer that your cat, so he should get to wander around the Tower whenever he wants to and not be afraid for his life," Ron declared.

"Really?! Is this how you want to –"

"Guys!" Harry interrupted, taking a few quick steps to get in front of the fighting duo. "We're here."

Harry walked up to Hagrid's door and knocked three times. He stepped away from the hut to wait by Ron and Hermione for Hagrid to open the door. The lights in the hut were on, so they knew that Hagrid was in there. Also, Fang was barking up a storm from somewhere inside.

 _'Crap. I didn't think about how Snuffles might react to Fang and vice versa,'_ Harry thought as he cast a worried glance down at Snuffles who was standing at Harry's feet shifting from looking down at the ground to glaring over at Ron.

Hagrid opened the door while saying, "Back, Fang! Get back!"

Not that it helped anything since Fang came charging out of the door with his tail wagging.

Suddenly, Snuffles was standing at attention with his gaze glued to Fang as the dog came up to greet them. Harry placed a hand on Snuffles' head, hoping to keep Snuffles calm.

"Hello, Hagrid," Hermione greeted.

Fang had finally noticed Snuffles. As Fang was sniffing around Snuffles, Snuffles was once again doing a great impression of a statue.

"Harry, Hermione, Ron! What're you doing here?" Hagrid questioned. "Not that it's not good to see you all again. Come in, come in! You doing alright there, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry said. Snuffles was dogging him inside, staying as close to Harry as he could while ignoring Fang's attempts to grab his attention.

"We just wanted to come by and see how your first day of classes went. And also, Harry has a question for you," Hermione responded as they all walked into Hagrid's hut.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down around Hagrid's big table as Hagrid went about finding cups for tea and, upon finding some, started steeping some tea for them to share. Harry made sure that Snuffles was sitting on the floor between him and Hermione since Harry was seated between Ron and Hermione. Harry didn't want Snuffles to start growling to Ron again.

As Hagrid placed a plate of rock cakes on the table, Harry leaned close to Ron and whispered, "I know what you're thinking, but please, don't feed any of those rock cakes to Snuffles."

"So only to Fang then, got it!" Ron whispered back. Harry sighed and looked to see what Hagrid was doing.

After Hagrid poured the tea, he gave a cup of tea each to Harry, Ron, and Hermione as well as grabbing one for himself as he sat down.

"Hagrid," Harry began tentatively. "I don't know if you've noticed or if you've been told, but this summer, I got a dog. His name is Snuffles."

"I think Professor McGonagall mentioned something about that," Hagrid said, bending down in his chair to look under the table at Snuffles who was sitting quietly at Harry's feet. When Snuffles didn't react to Hagrid's glance, Hagrid sat up in his seat and returned his attention to the three third years in front of him.

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind keeping an eye out for him whenever you're not too busy. While I'm in classes, I figure that Snuffles would have more fun running around the grounds rather than being cooped up in Gryffindor Tower," Harry said. "And I'd feel a lot better about letting him do that if I knew that you could kind of check up on him every once in a while, whenever you happen to be out and about around the grounds. I wouldn't want you to go out of your way to do this."

"Sure! O' course I can do that!" Hagrid agreed enthusiastically. "He looks pretty well behaved so I doubt it'll be any trouble for me to look out for him every once in a while."

"Thanks, Hagrid!" Harry said, happy and relieved to know that Snuffles wouldn't be entirely unsupervised all the time whenever he was outside while Harry was otherwise occupied with his classes.

"So, how're you all liking your classes so far?" Hagrid asked.

"Well, it's only been the first day, but most of the classes I've had have all been so very interesting. I think my favorite so far is Ancient Runes! It's so very fascinating!" Hermione responded.

"Only most of your classes?" Hagrid questioned.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I think we're all in agreement that Divination was… an experience."

"No joking!" Ron agreed. "She predicted Harry's death. It was pretty grim." Ron said with a cheeky smile.

"Ron," Harry groaned, sounding pained at the pun. Hermione just rolled her eyes.

After a moment of silence, Hagrid spoke up.

"How, err, how's your arm doing, Harry?" Hagrid asked, sounding hesitant.

"Oh, uhh, it's fine now. Madam Pomfrey fixed me right up," Harry said.

All of a sudden Hagrid burst out into tears.

"Wha – Hagrid?!" Harry worriedly exclaimed.

"It's all my fault you got hurt! I shoulda been watchin' ya and Buckbeak closer," Hagrid sobbed. "I'm no good as a teacher. I shoulda known better! I should be fired!"

"Oh, Hagrid, no," Hermione said gently. "You did a great job teaching us today."

"Hagrid, it wasn't your fault," Harry said vehemently. "It was all on Malfoy for insulting Buckbeak. And Buckbeak just responded to the insult like you warned us he would do. If anyone's at fault, it's Malfoy, not you!"

"No, no," Hagrid disagreed sadly. "I shoulda done more. I shoulda… I shoulda…"

"Harry and Hermione are right, Hagrid!" Ron interrupted. "You're a great professor and Malfoy's a slimy tosser who was causing trouble."

"Harry was still in danger though and he…" Hagrid trailed off.

"Hagrid?" Hermione prompted.

"What're you doing here?!" Hagrid demanded, looking scared.

"Hagrid!" Hermione sounded alarmed. "What –"

"You shouldn't be here. Harry! You shouldn't be wandering around the grounds at night with Black on the loose! It's not safe! You're putting yourself in danger!" Hagrid exclaimed standing up and urging them to stand as well.

"But Hagrid –" Harry began to say before being cut off by Hagrid.

"No buts! Come on! Come on!" Hagrid said, urging them all away from the table and to the door.

"I'll escort ya to the castle. We've got to get you inside now!" Hagrid exclaimed, ushering Harry, Ron, and Hermione towards the castle with Snuffles on Harry's heels and Fang on Hagrid's.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were practically jogging alongside of Hagrid to keep from falling behind since Hagrid's strides were longer and faster.

Hagrid stopped at the doors when they finally reached the castle. Harry was panting and his arm was aching but the nighttime chill of the September air felt good against his skin. He felt more than saw that Ron and Hermione were catching their breath beside him. Snuffles was on his paws right behind Harry, surveying his surroundings with a wary eye and looking not even slightly out of breath.

"Come on," Hagrid said. "In you go. I'll see you all in the castle or in class, but don't you be comin' to visit me when it gets dark, you hear! Not that I don't appreciate your visits, but it's not worth your safety."

And with that, Harry, Ron, and Hermione said their goodbyes to Hagrid and, with Snuffles, they entered the castle and walked through the corridors towards Gryffindor Tower.

...

"Merlin! It's been a long day," Harry said as he was turning down the sheets on his bed, already dressed in his pajamas with his teeth brushed.

"Tell me about it," Ron said, sounding a bit muffled as he pulled his pajama shirt over his head.

"First day o' classes is always the worst," Seamus said from across the room, lounging on his bed.

"Although I think that out of all of us, Harry's got the worst of it this time," Dean suggested as he rummaged through his school bag.

Seamus clicked his tongue and said, "That's right, you got trampled by a Hippogriff."

"Not exactly, but close enough, I suppose," Harry said, sitting down on his bed and idly scratching Snuffles behind the ears. The dog was silently laying on the bed, staring up at Harry.

"H-how are you feeling, Harry?" Neville asked, his Herbology book lying temporarily forgotten on his lap.

"I'm fine, Neville," Harry answered. "No real harm done."

"Are you s-sure?" Neville asked.

"Yup, but thanks for asking," Harry said.

Seeing that Snuffles was once again acting like he did right after the Dementor on the train, Harry decided to wrap up his conversation with the guys.

"Well, I think I'm going to call it a night," Harry said, addressing the room in general.

Four variations of "goodnight" sounded out from around the room as Harry started pulling his curtains closed. As Harry reached over to untie the last curtain, he couldn't quite cover the wince that crossed his face as he had to fully stretch out his recently healed arm.

Snuffles whined loudly in response.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Harry asked in a soft whisper as he slowly sat down at the head of the bed.

Snuffles just looked at Harry with a guilty expression.

"Why are you looking so guilty, huh?" Harry asked. "You didn't do anything… did you? You didn't poop in anyone's shoes or something, right?"

Snuffles shook his head, still looking downtrodden.

"Is this about my arm?" Harry asked. "Because if it is, it's no big deal."

Snuffles shuffled towards Harry and dropped his head on Harry's knee.

"I'm fine. I promise. See," Harry offered his previously injured arm towards Snuffles.

Snuffles snorted lightly and lifted his head just the slightest bit, straining forward so that he could sniff at Harry's arm.

"See, no real harm done. I'm fine," Harry said quietly, conscious of the other boys in the room. "But what's not fine is how you were acting once I got injured. You can't act like that, Snuffles. Any type of aggressive actions on your part could get you in some serious trouble. I know that you were just trying to defend me, but I'm afraid that you'll get kicked out or something if you keep up that kind of behavior. I understand that you were worried about me, but I swear, I'm safe here. There's no one out to get me in the castle… Well, actually, Snape is definitely out to get me, but not like, actually injuring me or anything."

Snuffles whined softly and licked Harry's hand in apology.

"You can't act like that, Snuffles," Harry repeated. "I'm probably going to get hurt again in the future. And that's something that I can't completely control. Things happen and sometimes I can prevent them, sometimes I can't. And sometimes I'll jump headlong into danger because someone I care about is in trouble. It's just what I do. But, if I do get hurt in the future – and I'm sure that I will get hurt again – whatever injury I receive will be nothing that I can't handle."

Snuffles was gazing intently at Harry.

"After all," Harry continued. "I've had worse injuries than that cut I got today and I'm sure I'll have to handle worse in the future. I have some stories about my first and second year that would probably give you a heart attack if you heard about what I did and about what happened to me. I have a tendency to end the school year in the Hospital Wing."

Snuffles made an odd panicked sort of noise and, suddenly, Harry found himself with a lapful of worried dog.

"Yeah, maybe I'll tell you about my first and second year sometime later. When you're not already all weird about me getting hurt," Harry said. "But right now, I think it's time for me to go to sleep. I am pretty tired."

As Snuffles got off of him and laid down, Harry pulled the covers out from under himself and took off his glasses, setting them on his nightstand. Snuffles settled down next to Harry as Harry slowly drifted off to sleep.

...

 _"Would you…_

 _…Would you look after him if…_

 _…If something were to happen to us?"_

 _Hazel eyes dancing as he looked over the rims of round glasses._

 _Green eyes twinkling as a bright smile lit up her face._

 _A gummy, giggling smile as small hands reached out for him._

 _They looked at him. They were happy. They were his family. Not entirely by blood, but by bond._

 _"Of course I will. I swear it."_

 _The door, broken off of its hinges and on the floor, wobbled under his feet as he walked over it and into the once warm and loving home._

 _"James?"_

 _ **"...If something were to happen to us?"**_

 _It was cold and dark._

 _"Lily?"_

 _ **"Would you…"**_

 _It's too quiet._

 _"Harry?"_

 _ **"If something…"**_

 _When he reached the stairs, he saw him, lying there. Glasses askew. No wand in sight._

 _"No. No! NO! JAMES! NO! No…"_

 _ **"…look after him…"**_

 _A soft cry came from upstairs._

 _"Who… Harry?"_

 _ **"…happen to us?"**_

 _He forced himself to run up the stairs, to leave the body of his friend, his best friend, cold on the floor._

 _"Harry!"_

 _ **"Would you look after him…"**_

 _The hallway stretched out before him._

 _Another cry. Softer than before._

 _ **"…something were to happen…"**_

 _"Harry!"_

 _At the end of the hall, he found another door, blown off of its hinges._

 _"No."_

 _ **"…look after him…"**_

 _Long, red hair pooled around the body on the ground in front of the crib._

 _"No! No, not… Not Lily too!"_

 _ **"Would you look after him..."**_

 _A whimper. So light he could barely hear it._

 _He forced himself to look away from her._

 _ **"…If something were to happen to us?"**_

 _The crib. He had to get to the crib_

 _He stepped around her and stood before the crib._

 _ **"…look after him…"**_

 _Looking down, he saw…_

 _"Harry."_

 _ **"…look after him…"**_

 _A toddler with black hair and vibrant green eyes._

 _"Oh, thank Merlin, Harry! You're… You're still… It's okay…_

 _…I'm here…_

 _…You're safe now."_

 ** _"…look after him…"_**

 _The toddler looked up at him with accusing green eyes._

 _"You did this," the toddler said._

 _"W-What? Harry?"_

 _The room shifted. The toddler was gone._

 _"It's all your fault," a voice said from behind him._

 _He turned._

 _It was the thirteen year old Harry, glaring at him, covered in blood._

 _"Everything that's happened. All of this. It's all your fault," Harry accused._

 _"No. No! Harry! Please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry."_

 _"They're dead because of you," Harry turned and walked away._

 _"I-I… I didn't mean… It's… Please! Please, don't leave me!"_

 _"Why?" Harry looked over his shoulder, blood dripping from his forehead, trailing down his face, and falling off of his chin. "So you can get me killed as well?"_

 _"No. No! I'm sorry! Please! I'm so sorry! I'll protect you! I promise! But, please! Please! Don't leave me!"_

 _Harry was gone._

 _"Please…"_

 _He was all alone now._

 _"I'm so sorry."_

 _Alone in the dark._

Snuffles jerked awake with a gasp.

It was dark. It was still so dark.

It was… Wait, there was a bit of light. Just enough so that he could see the outline of someone on their back next to him.

Snuffles slowly inched forward to look at the person's face.

It was Harry.

As Snuffles looked down at Harry, Snuffles let out a sigh in relief – a puff of air that went directly into Harry's face. Snuffles froze as Harry scrunched up his nose, but slowly relaxed when Harry remained asleep.

Snuffles was already shaken from the day's events, and this nightmare that he just had was pulling at the edges of his sanity.

He needed to keep it together.

He needed to keep it together for Harry.

He needed to protect Harry.

Ears twitching, Snuffles took in the noises of the room. It sounded like the loudest snorer was in the bed closest to Harry's, so it was probably Ron. There was a whistling type of snore from across the room as well as what sounded like covers rustling before that person settled down again. Apart from the snoring, the room was quiet.

Snuffles slowly calmed his racing heart as he gently dropped his head down on Harry's chest to reassure himself that Harry was fine. Feeling his head lightly rise and fall with every breath Harry took, Snuffles considered his next plan of action.

What had happened to Harry that afternoon was like a wakeup call for Snuffles. Snuffles hadn't been cautious enough. He hadn't really thought through his actions. And it was because of his actions that Harry got injured.

But, from the way Harry had been speaking before he went to bed, it didn't sound like Harry was too troubled about being hurt. Harry even admitted that he'd obtained worse injuries before.

What kinds of injuries did a kid get that caused him to think that a heavily bleeding injury from a raging animal wasn't something to be worried about? And what kinds of things had Harry been through that he almost sounds like he's expecting to get injured again, that he'll consciously decide to jump head first into danger?

Snuffles was _very much concerned_ about whatever hurt Harry had suffered in the past and why the kid seemed almost positive that he would get hurt again.

First, Snuffles would take care of the one threat to Harry's life that he was sure of: the rat. Then, he would learn all about the threats that Harry had had to take on by himself and the threats that Harry could face in the future. And Snuffles would try his best to make sure that Harry never had to face another threat, but if he did, then Harry would not be facing another threat alone ever again. Snuffles would make sure of that.

...

Potions class, as always, was a pain. The lecture was a pain to sit through. The benches were a pain to sit on. The notes were a pain to scribble down. The brewing was a pain to muddle through. And above all, the hateful comments from Professor Snape were a pain to listen to.

It was hard not to take the hurtful comments to heart, but, as the years passed, they slowly became easier to ignore. Harry couldn't entirely tune out the spiteful comments, but half of the time he could, mostly, ignore them. The other half of the time, he usually ended up responding with a mix of anger and sarcasm. And that always landed him with grueling detentions. Which, just like Potions class, were a pain to do.

The only unusual thing about the first Potions class of the term was Malfoy.

Malfoy, who usually took every opportunity he could to put down Harry and to try to throw things in Harry's cauldron to mess him up, did nothing towards Harry. Malfoy talked to his fellow Slytherins and focused on his own potion brewing, but he made no attempts to harass Harry or even Ron or Hermione. He made no attempts at sabotage.

It was a bit nerve-racking, to say the least.

All throughout the lesson, Harry expected Malfoy to do something. Make some comment. Try to trip Harry on his way to the ingredients cupboard. Throw something in Harry's cauldron to ruin the potion.

But, Malfoy. Did. Nothing.

It was as if Malfoy was pretending that Harry didn't exist at all. Which was the complete opposite of what the other Slytherins in the class were doing. Once Harry stopped watching Malfoy specifically, he noticed that the other Slytherins kept looking at him. A few were staring at him, only to look the other way when Harry caught them staring. A few were giving him sidelong glances. A few would give him considering or expectant looks, as if they were waiting for him to do something. And a few were glaring at him.

Of course, there were snide and snippy comments made from the Slytherins to the Gryffindors and the Gryffindors gave back as good as they got. But none of the comments from the Slytherins were directed at Harry specifically. Which was very unusual. But of course, those comments towards Harry were usually spearheaded by Malfoy himself. And since Malfoy appeared to be ignoring him for now, well, the decline in name calling directed at Harry did make some sense.

The only reason that Harry could come up with for Malfoy seemingly ignoring him was that Malfoy was planning something big. Something mean and somewhat evil, but something big. Probably some type of revenge for Harry getting dirt on Malfoy's robes or something stupid like that.

Harry didn't really know what was going on with Malfoy, but Harry was determined to be on his guard. He would be prepared for whatever Malfoy was going to throw at him.

"You've been awfully quiet since we got out of Potions, Harry," Hermione stated.

"Just thinking," Harry said as they were approaching the door to the Defense classroom.

"Were you thinking about how much of a bastard Snape was to Neville today?" Ron questioned.

"Ron! Honestly," Hermione sighed.

"What? He was! But, of course, that's Snape for you. Or are you thinking about your dog?" Ron asked. "Since we have Defense right after Potions, you're not really getting a chance to see him, right?"

"Yeah," Harry said, agreeing to the last statement but not really answering the question of what he had been thinking about. "I was fine with leaving him mostly by himself the other day, but with the way he was acting after Hagrid's class… I'm not entirely sure that leaving him alone is the best thing that I could do at the moment."

"It's not like you really have a choice, though," Hermione said. "You've told us Professor McGonagall said that you can't take him to class with you, so…"

"Yup," Harry said. "I was going to let him roam around the grounds, but I think that leaving him in Gryffindor Tower for today, at least, is probably the best option I have. After Defense is over, I'll have a chance to go check on him."

Although he was worried about Snuffles, Harry was really looking forward to the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the term. Especially since, so far, this Defense Professor seemed to know what he was doing. Professor Lupin knew how to defend against the Dementor on the train and how to counteract the negative effects of the Dementor's presence. Also, Harry had heard nothing but praise about his teaching style from a few upper years who had already experienced a class with Professor Lupin.

When they arrived at the Defense classroom, Professor Lupin was nowhere to be seen. There were some other students already seated at the desks as Hermione moved towards a desk in the middle row near the front of the classroom. Harry slid into the seat next to her with Ron following behind him.

"So, what do you think Professor Lupin will be like, teaching-wise that is?" Hermione asked, pulling her Defense textbook out of her schoolbag.

"As long as Lupin is better than Snape when it comes to teaching, then I think he'll be a pretty good professor."

"Professor Lupin, Professor Snape," Hermione resignedly corrected.

"Yeah, them," Ron said.

"And as long as he's not possessed by –" Harry started to say.

" _You-Know-Who!_ " Ron quickly interjected loudly over Harry as he said, "Voldemort".

"– and as long as he's not a complete dunderhead like Lockhart was –"

"Well, I think that Professor Lupin seemed quite knowledgeable on the train," Hermione interrupted.

"True," Harry agreed.

As Harry had been talking with Ron and Hermione, the rest of his fellow classmates had entered the room and filed into the empty desks. All they needed now was for their professor to arrive.

Just as Ron and Harry were pulling out their own textbooks, Professor Lupin appeared.

"Good afternoon class. I'm happy to see that you're all prepared, but I'm afraid you won't be needing your books just yet," Professor Lupin said as he stood near the door and just within the room. "You can leave them here for the time being and I'll ask that you all grab your wands and follow me."

"Where do you think we're going?" Ron quietly questioned Harry and Hermione, but Hermione was already standing up and walking towards Professor Lupin. Harry just shrugged his shoulders in response as he also got up.

In a somewhat orderly fashion, Professor Lupin led his Defense students through the corridors as the third years chattered excitedly, wondering where their professor was taking them and what he was going to have them do.

Professor Lupin slowed to a stop in front of a door where Peeves was focused on shoving what looked to be a wad of gum into the door's keyhole.

"Watch closely," Professor Lupin murmured to his students.

Waving his wand towards the door, Professor Lupin incanted, "Waddiwasi!"

The wad of gum flew out of the keyhole and up into Peeves' nose. Peeves made a shocked exclamation before flying away down the corridor.

Professor Lupin approached the door and opened it.

"Come along. It's this way," Professor Lupin said, holding open the door and indicating that his students should go on into the room.

Since Harry was one of the first students through the door, he saw Snape get up from the chair he had been sitting in with a sour expression on his face. Harry realized that this room was the teachers' lounge.

"Leave the door open," Snape spit venomously. "I don't want to witness whatever ridiculousness happens next."

As Snape glided over to the door, Neville, one of the last students in the group, stumbled through the door.

Sneering, Snape said, "Longbottom is utterly incompetent, Lupin. I'd keep him well away from whatever it is you have planned."

"Actually," Professor Lupin said conversationally. "I was just about to ask him for his assistance."

Ignoring what Lupin had said, Snape left in a swirl of robes.

"Now, Mr. Longbottom," Professor Lupin began lightly. "I believe that you are just the student to help me with the example that I have planned for this class period."

"I-I, ummm… I-I don't think…" Neville trailed off, looking down at his shoes.

"I won't force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, but I believe that you would be a great help," Professor Lupin said quietly.

"Really?" Neville asked, just as quietly.

"Really, really," Professor Lupin assured, before raising his voice to address the rest of the students lurking around the room. "Follow me, what I'm going to be showing you is just over here."

Professor Lupin lowered his voice once more, "Come on, Mr. Longbottom."

Neville fell into step directly behind Professor Lupin and the rest of the class followed along behind the duo. Professor Lupin led the class towards a wardrobe. A rattling wardrobe.

Neville abruptly stopped when he saw the wardrobe shake, as did a majority of the rest of the class.

Seeing this, Professor Lupin said, "No need to worry. Gather around."

Harry slowed to a stop in between Ron and Hermione as he and his classmates formed a semicircle around the front of the wardrobe. Professor Lupin circled around the students to stand at the back of the group.

"Intriguing, isn't it?" Professor Lupin said, putting his hands in his pockets and taking a few steps to the left of the group before stopping. "Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what is inside?"

Hermione's hand immediately shot up in the air, but Dean was quicker to answer.

"That's a Boggart, that is," said Dean confidently.

"Very good, Mr. Thomas," Professor Lupin said with a nod, walking towards the left side of the group. Professor Lupin then stopped and leaned against a desk that had been pushed up against the wall. "Now, can anyone tell me what a Boggart looks like?"

This time, Hermione didn't raise her hand. Instead she just spoke out, "No one knows. Boggarts are shapeshifters. They take the shape of whatever a particular person fears the most. That's what makes them so –"

"So terrifying," Professor Lupin interrupted. "Yes, yes, yes."

Professor Lupin pushed away from the desk and walked towards the front of the group of students, stopping just off to the side of the wardrobe.

"Can anyone tell me why we might already have an advantage over the Boggart?" Professor Lupin asked.

Hermione answered again.

"We're in a group, Professor," Hermione responded. "With so many of us to face, the Boggart could get confused about what it should turn into."

"Yes! That's exactly it, Ms. Granger," Professor Lupin said, slowly walking closer to the wardrobe. "If we were to face it standing clustered together in a group as you all are now, the Boggart would indeed become confused. Should it turn into a giant flesh-eating slug or a headless man? I once saw a Boggart that was faced with that exact conundrum and turn itself into the back half of a slug. Not very terrifying."

Some of the class giggled at that.

"Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart," Professor Lupin said as he came to a stop in between the students and the rattling wardrobe. "Let's practice it now. Ah, without wands, please."

Professor Lupin pulled one hand out of his pocket to emphasize what he was saying as he said, "After me, now: Riddikulus."

As one, Harry and his fellow students chanted, "Riddikulus."

The Boggart made a very loud thump within the wardrobe that had the group of students flinching and taking a step back.

"Very good," Professor Lupin praised. "A little louder and very clear. Listen: Rid-dik-ulus."

"Riddikulus," the students chanted back louder.

Malfoy was standing off to the side of the group with his friends, but Harry still heard Malfoy mutter, "This class is ridiculous."

"Very good!" Professor Lupin encouraged. "Well, so much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a Boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you fine truly amusing. Let me explain."

Professor Lupin paused and looked at Neville.

"Ah! Mr. Longbottom, would you join me please?" Professor Lupin asked as the Boggart made another loud thud in the wardrobe.

Neville looked at the wardrobe and then at the students near him.

"Come on, don't be shy," Professor Lupin encouraged. "Come on."

Neville slowly walked up to Professor Lupin, all the while looking down at his shoes.

"Hello," Professor Lupin said when Neville finally looked him in the eyes.

Neville smiled weakly.

"Neville, what frightens you most of all?" Professor Lupin asked.

"P-Prof-Professor Sn… Sna…" Neville trailed off into a whisper.

"Sorry?" Professor Lupin questioned when he couldn't make out what Neville was saying.

Neville took a deep breath and clearly said, "Professor Snape."

"Professor Snape," Professor Lupin said amused. "Yes, he frightens all… And I believe that you live with your grandmother, correct?"

"Y-Yes, but I don't want that Boggart to turn into her either," Neville quickly said.

"No, it won't" Professor Lupin calmly said, shaking his head back and forth before looking back at the thumping and rattling wardrobe. "I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes – very clearly in your mind."

"S-She carries a red handbag," Neville started to explain but stopped as Professor Lupin shook his head back and forth again.

"We don't need to hear," Professor Lupin said. "As long as you see it, we'll see it."

Neville nodded his understanding.

"Now, when I open that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do," Professor Lupin said, making his way over to stand at Neville's side. Professor Lupin then whispered something into Neville's ear. Harry couldn't hear what Professor Lupin was telling Neville, but whatever it was caused Neville to look a little shocked.

Professor Lupin pulled back away from Neville and asked, "Can you do that?"

Neville nodded.

"Wand at the ready," Professor Lupin called, reaching into his own robes to pull out his wand.

"One," Professor Lupin said, pointing his wand at the wardrobe. "Two."

When Professor Lupin said, "Three", he flicked his wand at the wardrobe, causing the doorknob to turn and the door to slowly open with a loud creak.

As the wardrobe door opened, out stalked Professor Snape.

"Think, Neville, think," Professor Lupin calmly instructed Neville.

Snape looked particularly malicious as he stalked closer to Neville.

"Riddikulus!" Neville exclaimed, pointing his wand at the Professor Snape Boggart.

Immediately, Snape's black robes transformed into a woman's green skirt and green suit jacket, with a decorative fox hanging over his shoulders, a red handbag in his gloved hands, and a large vulture hat on his head.

The entire class, Neville included, laughed at the image the Boggart presented of Professor Snape wearing Neville's grandmother's clothes and high heels.

"Wonderful, Neville! Wonderful! Incredible!" Professor Lupin praised. "Okay, now, to the back, Neville."

As Neville started walking towards the back of the group, Professor Lupin said, "Everyone form a line."

Harry and his classmates quickly fell into a line. When some of the Slytherins, Malfoy included, Harry noticed, began pushing and shoving everyone, the line moved forward with Ron at the very front. Ron started walking backwards, which caused everyone in line to move backwards as well.

"Form a line," Professor Lupin repeated. "I want everyone to picture the thing that they fear the very most and turn it into something funny."

When Professor Lupin saw that the class had formed a line, he addressed the person at the front of it.

"Next, Mr. Weasley!"

Ron slowly walked towards the Boggart, which was still in the form of Snape wearing Neville's grandmother's clothes.

"Concentrate," Professor Lupin said. "Face your fear. Be brave!"

The Boggart seemed to swirl in on itself as it transformed from Professor Snape into a giant spider.

Ron whimpered and reached into his robe to grab his wand. Ron appeared to freeze as the giant spider moved closer to him.

"Wand at the ready, Mr. Weasley. Wand at the ready!" Professor Lupin instructed.

Ron grabbed his wand, pointed it at the Boggart, and said, "Riddikulus!" just as the Boggart was less than a foot in front of him.

The spider Boggart was suddenly wearing eight skates on each of its legs, causing it to slide all over, unable to get a proper footing.

"Yes!" Professor Lupin laughed, as the class laughed along with him. "You see! Very good! Very good! Marvelous! Absolutely enjoyable!"

Ron strutted towards the back of the line as Professor Lupin called out, "Next, Ms. Patil!"

A large snake appeared and, with an encouragement of "Keep your nerve" from Professor Lupin, Pavarti chanted "Riddikulus" and the snake turned into a big Jack-in-the-Box as the class laughed with her.

"Next, next! Step up," Professor Lupin encouraged.

The Boggart transformed into a mummy.

"Riddikulus!"

And the mummy tripped over its own bandages and fell on its face as the students laughed at it.

Student after student continued to face the Boggart as it transformed into something frightening and then something amusing. Everyone kept up a steady stream of laughter.

Harry happened to be one of the last students in line. But, when he went up to face the Boggart, Professor Lupin quickly stood in front of Harry, completely blocking Harry from the Boggart. The Boggart turned into a glowing orb, like a crystal ball or the moon.

"Riddikulus!" Professor Lupin firmly chanted. The glowing orb turned into a deflating balloon, flying through the classroom and making noise as it lost air.

Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the wardrobe to reopen it and then pointed his wand at the Boggart, directing it into the open wardrobe. Then Professor Lupin used his wand to shut and lock the door of the wardrobe behind it. The wardrobe started rattling again as the Boggart thumped around inside it.

"Oh, well, sorry about that," Professor Lupin addressed that class. "I think that's enough for today. If you'd all like to go back to the classroom and collect your books, that's the end of the lesson. Thank you."

The class made some noises of disappointment to which Professor Lupin responded with, "Sorry, sorry, but you don't want too much of a good thing."

Harry reluctantly turned away from the wardrobe and slowly followed the rest of the class out of the room.

 _'Why didn't Professor Lupin let me face the Boggart?'_ Harry wondered, somewhat disappointed.

...

Snuffles was impatiently waiting for Harry in the Common Room. He was sitting up near the fireplace and facing the portrait opening. Snuffles would perk up every time the portrait opened, only to droop down in disappointment when the student entering turned out not to be Harry.

Although Harry was still in the castle, Snuffles wanted to be near him, to make sure that Harry was protected. But Harry had put his foot down this time. Harry thought that all of the noise and commotion in the Great Hall might be too much for Snuffles after the evening that he had had yesterday.

So, Snuffles remained behind in the Gryffindor Common Room, waiting for Harry to return from dinner with some food for him to eat.

The portrait was opening again and Snuffles perked up. Snuffles heard Harry talking to some of his friends before Snuffles actually saw him, but Harry had finally made it back from dinner.

Snuffles raced across the room to greet Harry.

"Hey, Snuffles!" Harry said, scratching Snuffles behind his ears. "I've got some food for you right here."

"Wanna snag those seats by the fireplace before someone else can get to them?" Ron suggested.

"Sure," Harry said as he and Hermione followed Ron over to the armchairs.

Snuffles trotted behind Harry and, after Harry sat down in one of the chairs, Snuffles laid down at Harry's feet. Harry pulled out a napkin stuffed with multiple selections of sliced meats and set it down in front of Snuffles.

As Snuffles started eating, he listened to Harry and his friends continue the conversation they had been having as they walked into the Common Room.

"I'm pretty sure it was nothing against you, Harry," Hermione said.

"I… Are you sure? I mean, it was only me who he stopped from facing the Boggart," Harry asked.

"Well, there were a lot of other students to get through," Ron said. "Maybe he thought you'd already faced it?"

"I don't know… But other than that, I really think that he's going to be an excellent Defense professor," Harry said.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "Professor Lupin's –"

Suddenly Snuffles choked on the mouthful of food he'd been chewing.

"Woah! Slow down, Snuffles," Harry said. "You alright?"

Snuffles roughly swallowed the food, but the once delicious bite of turkey now tasted like ash in his mouth.

"Sorry, you were saying," Harry prompted Hermione after it was clear that Snuffles wasn't choking anymore.

"Well, Professor Lupin's lesson was really informative and fun!" Hermione quietly exclaimed. "I mean, he gave a great lecture that was very easy to understand and then we got to practice what he spoke about immediately after."

"Yeah, I agree," Ron said. "I really liked it and Lupin."

"Professor Lupin," Hermione tiredly corrected.

"Yeah, Professor Lupin," Ron said.

"I know I'm already looking forward to Professor Lupin's next lesson," Harry said.

"Me too," Hermione said. "So, have either of you started on the Transfiguration essay Professor McGonagall assigned yesterday?"

"Ha!" Ron snorted. "No."

"Ron…" Hermione sighed.

Harry and his two friends continued talking but Snuffles wasn't really paying attention anymore. Snuffles pushed aside his unfinished meal as he considered the problem of Remus Lupin.

In all honesty, Snuffles had no idea about how he was supposed to feel. When he first ran into Remus on the train, he had, admittedly, panicked. And when he was on the train, Snuffles had been a jumbled ball of confusion – he didn't really know how he was supposed to feel, how he was supposed to react in relation to Remus.

He wanted to be so happy.

 _'Remus is alive! He's teaching at Hogwarts!'_

But he was almost enraged over the way Remus looked.

 _'His clothing is all scruffy and second-hand. Every time I see him, Remus looks exhausted… and sad. What happened to him? Did someone do that to him?!'_

After the rage, Snuffles almost felt hopeful.

 _'Maybe… Just maybe… I could go to him. I could go to Remus and explain everything and he'd help me. He'd help me protect Harry. He'd…'_

And then came desolation.

 _'But would he ever believe me? Why would he even want to listen to me? To him, I'm a criminal. I'm a murderer. I'm… He probably thinks I'm evil. I… Why would he believe me? Why would he even consider listening to the word of an Azkaban escapee?'_

Then, came the feeling of something similar to hatred.

 _'He just left me in there. He left me in Azkaban! He never visited. He just… And he left Harry all alone! Harry needed someone! He needed someone other than those rotten Dursleys! But Remus never… He never did anything!'_

And just as soon as the hatred over took him, came the sadness.

 _'Was he ever really my friend? Why did he never… And what happened to him? He looks so rundown…'_

After the sadness, came the concern.

 _'How is he doing – really doing? Are the transformations taking too much out of him? Does he have enough money? Has no one been hiring him? Until Hogwarts, that is? Did he even have a job before he became a professor here?'_

But then Snuffles started feeling frustrated.

 _'Why does Remus have to be here, at Hogwarts, NOW?! The only person who could probably identify me at a glance is living in the same place as me. Why?!'_

And then Snuffles was back to anger.

Then hatred.

Sadness.

Hope.

Concern.

Desolation.

Happiness.

Frustration.

Snuffles knew how he felt about Remus, but, at the same time, he had no clue how he really felt about Remus. He had no idea about how he was supposed to act, no idea about how he was supposed to behave around Remus.

So, Snuffles decided to ignore it.

He'd ignore the whole issue of Remus until he could figure out the best course of action to take – until he could figure out how he truly felt and what he should do about it. In the meantime, Snuffles would avoid Remus.

It was simple. The plan was so simple. Just simply avoid Remus.

If Snuffles didn't see Remus, then Remus wouldn't see him and wouldn't be able to identify him as Sirius Black.

See no Remus, speak no Remus, hear no Remus. That would be his motto from here on out – until he could get his head on straight about it.

Problem averted. Well, at least for the moment.

Feeling much better, Snuffles turned back to his meal.

...

The next few weeks passed in a flurry of classes, assignments, and Quidditch practice.

Just about everyone agreed that Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was the _best_ class. Harry agreed – Defense was Harry's favorite class. Lupin was an amazing professor. His lectures were easy to understand, he had a practical lesson almost every class, and he was always willing to help. The only person who seemed to not like the class was Malfoy. And even then, the only real complaint Malfoy had against the class was the shabby state of Professor Lupin's robes.

With Quidditch season starting up, Harry had less time to spend with Snuffles. Most mornings, Snuffles would get up with Harry and follow him down to the Quidditch pitch. Snuffles would usually sit on the grass near the bleachers, intently watching Harry flying around after the snitch or practicing team maneuvers on his broom. But sometimes, not often, but sometimes, Snuffles would be too tired to even get up, so Harry would have to leave Snuffles behind on his bed.

Oliver would get the entire team up before the crack of dawn to train. He'd usually spend the first hour lecturing the team on strategies before they could go out flying on their brooms. The only way that Harry usually managed to stay awake during those lectures was by listening to the Weasley twins make offhanded or humorous comments. The twins often said the comments loud enough that Harry could hear them, but quiet enough that Oliver wouldn't. Of course, staying awake by listening to the Weasley twins only worked when Fred and George could stay awake themselves. More often than not, Fred or George or the both of them would doze off, leaning against the wall or each other. Whenever that happened, Harry would usually nod off as well.

After practice, Harry would have just enough time to take a very quick shower and stop by the Great Hall for a bit of toast before heading to his first class of the day. If Snuffles came with Harry to Quidditch practice, then Harry would usually stop by the Great Hall first, if only to make sure that Snuffles got something to eat.

Although almost everyone was excited about the upcoming Quidditch season, just about everyone, third year and up, was even more excited about Halloween coming up. The reason for that being that Halloween was the first official Hogsmeade visit of the school year. The Great Hall, the hallways, the classrooms, and the common rooms were filled with excited chatter about who was going to do what when they finally got to go to Hogsmeade. It seemed like everyone, apart from the first and second years, was going.

Of course, this only served to make Harry more distraught about not being able to go to Hogsmeade. Ron and Hermione were both sympathetic towards Harry's plight and promised to bring him back lots of sweets. Not that that really cheered Harry up, but Harry was happy that Ron and Hermione were thinking of him.

Nowadays, it seemed like the only thing that Ron and Hermione agreed on was their sympathy for Harry's Hogsmeade situation because the rest of the time they were together, they argued viciously about their pets. Especially when, one evening when they were all doing homework in the Common Room, Crookshanks made another attempt to attack Scabbers.

Just about every time that Ron and Hermione started to talk to each other, no matter how the conversation started, they always devolved into an argument about Crookshanks and Scabbers.

At first, Harry would try to play mediator. He would try to stop the argument before it could really get going or he'd try to get Hermione to see it from Ron's side and Ron to see it from Hermione's side. Harry usually failed.

But then Harry's pet priority had shifted. While he was concerned about Ron and Hermione's fights, Harry had his own pet to worry about. Snuffles was behaving strangely. Or, well, more strangely than he usually did.

At first, there were a few incidents that could be explained away as usual dog behavior – running ahead, chasing after a scent, becoming distracted by a passing bird, investigating a new room. But these incidents were happening more and more often.

Two weeks ago, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking down the corridors, kind of meandering, but generally working their way towards the Great Hall for dinner. Snuffles was trotting alongside Harry as the three friends were talking about their latest Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

All of a sudden, Snuffles raced ahead and disappears down a side corridor. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione in askance, but they both shrugged their shoulders in response. Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued walking forward when they began to hear someone walking towards them and talking.

Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall were in the middle of a discussion as they appeared around the corner at the very end of the hallway that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking down. Harry and Ron gave an awkward wave of their hands in greeting while Hermione smiled brightly. Both Professors nodded back at the students, but no words were exchanged because the two groups were still too far away from each other; and neither group wanted to shout.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned down the corridor that Snuffles had disappeared to well before Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall got within talking distance. Although Harry was in the same corridor that Snuffles went down, the dog was nowhere in sight. So, Harry called out Snuffles' name.

A few moments passed, and just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione started walking again, Snuffles appeared out from behind one of the low hanging tapestries on the left side of the hallway. Slowly, Snuffles shuffled over to Harry and they were all on their way to the Great Hall once again.

Then, a week and a half ago, Harry was walking through the castle with Snuffles, intending to take him outside for a while since Harry had some free time (and he wanted to get away from Ron and Hermione fighting over their pets again). Harry and Snuffles were alone in one of the corridors when Snuffles made an odd, almost alarmed sounding noise and ducked into the first room that had a door partially opened.

Confused about why the dog abruptly went into an old classroom, since Snuffles had been excited and overly eager to go outside (the dog had been herding Harry towards the main doors of the castle like an overzealous puppy), Harry called for Snuffles to come to him. But Snuffles didn't come.

Sighing, Harry took the few steps required to get to the entrance of the room when Professor Lupin rounded the corner with a stack of papers in his hands.

"Need some help, Harry?" Professor Lupin asked. And Harry could figure out why the professor assumed he might need some help. Harry was pretty sure that he was making a constipated-looking face at the door that Snuffles just disappeared through.

"Thanks, but no, Professor," Harry responded. "Snuffles just dashed into this classroom, probably to check it out. I was taking him down to the grounds so he could go for a run, but I guess he smelled something and got distracted."

"Well, have fun then," Professor Lupin said, amused, before continuing down the corridor.

Harry pushed the door open wider and entered the room, but Snuffles was nowhere to be seen. Since Harry could see no other exits, aside from the windows, Harry wandered around the classroom, seeing only old, dusty students' desks and then a larger and equally dusty teacher's desk at the front of the room.

Harry approached the teacher's desk and looked under it. And low and behold, there was Snuffles, curled up underneath the teacher's desk.

"You're an odd ball of fluff, aren't you?" Harry mused. "Are you alright, Snuffles?"

In response, Snuffles uncurled from under the desk and trotted over to the door, looking back at Harry as if to ask whether or not he was coming too. Rolling his eyes, Harry followed after Snuffles and together, they went outside to run around.

But then, just this week, there were two incidences with Snuffles that were rather peculiar even by Snuffles' usual odd behavior.

Six days ago, Harry was feeding Snuffles under the table in the Great Hall at lunch. Everything seemed normal since they had just sat down and started eating. Harry had already passed off two slices of turkey to Snuffles when Harry became distracted by Hermione's questions about their recent Defense lesson. Snuffles had put his head on Harry's right knee to beg for some more food, whining a little when Harry didn't respond fast enough for Snuffles' liking.

Harry reached passed Ron for the platter of ham slices when Hermione noticed Professor Lupin getting up from the high table and began to flag him down as the professor walked down the center aisle of the Great Hall.

As Hermione called out the professor's name, Harry felt Snuffles jerk up off of his knee. Harry figured that Snuffles was probably eager for more food.

Professor Lupin slowed to a stop beside them and Hermione started asking her question as Harry was offering Snuffles two slices of ham under the table, but the dog wasn't taking the food. Harry happened to be facing the doors of the Great Hall since he was looking at Hermione as she was talking to Professor Lupin because Harry was also interested in Professor Lupin's response to the question.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw a large, dark shape race out from under the Gryffindor table and through the doors as if it was being chased.

"Was… was that just Snuffles?" Harry asked himself.

Hermione just gave him a funny look in response, not even pausing her discussion with Professor Lupin.

And then, not even two days ago, Harry, Hermione, and Ron decided to get some fresh air before the truly cold wintery air could settle in. And of course Harry brought Snuffles outside with them as he and his friends settled down near the Great Lake.

As Harry was talking with Ron and Hermione, he saw that Snuffles was having a great time racing around the area. But, Harry noticed, Snuffles always seemed to stay within Harry's line of sight.

When, a little while later, Harry was busy awkwardly staring around as Ron and Hermione were at it again and fighting over their pets, Harry saw Hagrid and Professor Lupin come into view. They were still too far away to be heard, but it looked like they were talking about something and heading towards Hagrid's hut.

Harry was going to interrupt Ron and Hermione's argument to tell them (mainly because nothing else Harry said had gotten the two of them to stop arguing so far), but something else interrupted them before Harry even had the chance to open his mouth. Because, just as he was about to say something, they all suddenly heard a loud splash. As one, the three friends looked over at the lake.

Just off of the shore, Harry can see some ripples in the water, as if something had just went under.

"Was that the Giant Squid saying hello?" Ron asked, addressing nobody in particular.

Hagrid and Professor Lupin were almost completely out of sight now, so Harry saw no reason to tell Ron and Hermione about the Care of Magical Creatures and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors conspiring together. Harry wondered what creature they'd see in their next Defense lesson if Professor Lupin was involving Hagrid.

So, Harry turned his attention back to the Great Lake and the mysterious ripples in the water since Ron and Hermione had already restarted their argument.

Harry's curiosity about the ripples turned to shock when Snuffles suddenly popped up from underneath the surface of the lake.

"Wha – What in the world? Snuffles?!" Harry exclaimed.

Snuffles looked utterly miserable as he paddled back towards the shore and plodded over to Harry. When Snuffles reached Harry, Snuffles sneezed twice and then started whining. Harry figured that he was cold since the dog was shivering.

"What were you thinking?" Harry asked Snuffles. The dog sighed and seemed to droop inwards on himself.

Harry left Ron and Hermione to their argument as he took Snuffles inside to go dry him off and get him warmed up.

...

Harry walked with Ron and Hermione towards the main doors of the castle since it was Halloween, which meant it was the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. He'd already asked Professor McGonagall if she could sign his permission form so that he could go into Hogsmeade with his friends, but Professor McGonagall kindly, but firmly told him that it wouldn't be possible. So, Harry was just going to walk Ron and Hermione to the doors before turning around and heading back to Gryffindor Tower to hang out with Snuffles. Snuffles had barely moved since they had woken up this morning, so Harry figured that Snuffles wouldn't be the best company at the moment.

"Is it just me or has Malfoy been acting a bit… weird? But in a good way? Well, not exactly good… I mean, he's still a git, but…" Harry asked, thinking about the times when Malfoy would stay silent instead of making an insulting remark like he usually would. Or sometimes Malfoy would give Harry a weird, somewhat indecipherable, but mostly frustrated look whenever Malfoy thought Harry wasn't looking – sometimes Harry caught him at it, but most of the time it was Hermione who noticed when Malfoy was doing it. "Like Malfoy's acting off and when someone's acting off, it's usually bad, but this is actually good, but it could be bad. Like is he planning something? Is it the calm before the storm type of deal? Or… Am I making any sense? I feel like I'm not making any sense."

"You are rambling a bit, Harry," Hermione said, "but I think I understand what you're trying to say."

"Yeah, he hasn't said any mean things about any of us specifically, or at least he hasn't said it to our faces like he usually does," Ron agreed. "…Do you think he's possessed or something?"

"Really. Possessed. That's what you think is happening," Hermione said flatly.

"What? It could happen," Ron defended. "Go on then, what's you're explanation."

"I think it has something to do with us," Hermione said. "Or, more specifically, Harry."

"What? Me?" Harry asked, pausing for a moment to think about what Hermione could possibly be trying to say. "You don't – You think it has something to do with… Well, yes, actually, that would make sense."

"Exactly," Hermione agreed. "I mean, it doesn't really explain his behavior, but it's likely the cause for the way he's acting."

"Uhh, mind filling me in here, guys?" Ron asked.

"Malfoy was being his usual nasty self until –" Hermione started to say.

"Until I tackled him out of the way of an angry Hippogriff," Harry finished. "I mean, what other explanation could there be?"

"I just suggested one, he could be possessed," Ron suggested.

"Ron…" Hermione trailed off uncertainly.

"Oh, relax. I'm just joking," Ron said. "I still know how to joke around… and relax, which, I might add, cannot be said for Scabbers. He can't relax at all anymore and it's all your cat's fault!"

"Oh, not this again!" Hermione said angrily.

"Oh, yes, this again!" Ron disagreed. "When are you going to get that thing under control?! Scabbers has been sick and you're making it worse!"

" _I'm_ making it worse?!" Hermione scoffed.

"Guys," Harry said, trying to cut in.

"Yes! If you hadn't've gotten that bloody menace, then none of this would be happening!" Ron exclaimed, ignoring Harry.

"Don't you go blaming this on me, Ronald," Hermione hissed, also ignoring Harry. "You just said it yourself, your rat was sick – it was sick before I even got Crookshanks! It's you who needs to learn to control your rat! Maybe if you could keep it contained, then my cat, whom, might I add, is just following his instincts, wouldn't chase after him."

"Guys!" Harry interjected loudly, but was once again ignored.

"– your stupid cat is just a –"

"– maybe it's just time for that rat to –"

"– don't you dare say that I haven't been –"

"– so now it's my doing? I can't believe that you'd suggest –"

Harry could barely decipher what Ron and Hermione were saying as they started talking over each other. Well, it was less like talking and more like shouting.

Sighing, Harry decided to just leave them to it and started walking away. They'd shout themselves out eventually, and maybe once they calmed down again and returned from Hogsmeade, they could continue their conversation about Malfoy's weird behavior.

Harry slowly meandered through the halls, feeling a bit sorry for himself since he couldn't go to Hogsmeade with everyone else. As he was walking down a hallway on his way to Gryffindor Tower, he ran across Professor Lupin.

"Hello, Harry," Professor Lupin greeted. "Not going to Hogsmeade?"

"Hello, Professor," Harry said, sounding a bit glum. "And, no, I can't. My uncle didn't sign my permission form."

"Well, that's unfortunate news," Professor Lupin said, sounding sincere. "Say, would you like to join me for some tea in my office. I was just on my way there now to grade some papers, but I think those papers can wait for a little while longer."

"Oh, umm, sure," Harry said, still feeling down and not really wanting to be alone at the moment. Even though he had Snuffles waiting for him in Gryffindor Tower, talking to a dog wasn't the same as talking to a person – no matter how much of a friend and great listener Snuffles was. "That is, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind," Professor Lupin responded. "Come on."

The walk to Professor Lupin's office was very short.

"Come in, come in," Professor Lupin said ushering Harry into his office.

"Woah!" Harry exclaimed, looking at the creature in the glass tank that was just to the right of the door, inside of Professor Lupin's office. "What is that?"

"That, Harry, is a Grindylow. I'm planning to introduce it to your class in a lesson later this week," Professor Lupin said. "A Grindylow has a very strong grip, and the trick to breaking out of a Grindylow's grip is to break their fingers. Do you see how long and brittle their fingers are, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry breathed, still gazing at the weirdly ugly creature. Harry soon shifted his attention to the rest of the room when Professor Lupin moved away from the tank holding the Grindylow.

As Harry took a seat in front of Professor Lupin's desk, Lupin busied himself with making the both of them some tea. When Professor Lupin sat down at his desk with a tray of tea and biscuits at hand, Lupin asked Harry if there was anything he wanted to talk about.

Although a bit stilted at first, Harry and Professor Lupin's conversation eventually developed into a relatively fast paced discussion about the ins and outs of defenses against certain creatures.

After about an hour of really informative conversation, Harry finally worked up the courage to ask Professor Lupin something that had been on his mind since their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

"You look like you have something heavy on your mind, Harry," Professor Lupin observed after a moment or two of silence.

"I have something that I've been wanting to ask you for a while now," Harry said. "Ever since our first Defense lesson…"

"You want to ask me why I didn't let you face the Boggart," Professor Lupin guessed.

"Yes. That's – I just… I don't know why you didn't give me a chance. Did you think I wasn't strong enough?" Harry questioned, sounding a bit wounded at the thought.

"On the contrary, Harry, I think that you are a very strong person," Professor Lupin said. "You have talent and strength of character. Two very good traits to have, not only when facing a Boggart, but when having to face any creature."

"They why?" Harry asked.

"I thought it would be obvious," Professor Lupin responded. "I was afraid that, when you faced it, the Boggart would turn into Lord Voldemort."

"Oh," Harry was surprised, both at the suggestion and the fact that Professor Lupin actually said Voldemort's name. Almost everyone he knew referred to Voldemort as 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'.

"Yes, I didn't think that was something that your classmates should see in their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson of the year."

"But, Professor," Harry began slowly. "I don't think that the thing I fear the most is Voldemort."

"Oh?"

"I'm pretty sure that what I fear the most are Dementors," Harry said.

Lupin looked thoughtful for a moment, before saying, "That suggests that what you fear most of all is fear. Very wise, Harry."

Harry was about to respond, but then he almost jumped out of his seat when the door to Professor Lupin's office slammed open. Turning around to see who so rudely opened the door, Harry saw Snape enter the room with a steaming goblet.

Sneering, Snape approached the desk and slammed the goblet down without spilling a drop.

"Drink it, Lupin," Snape said venomously before turning on his heel and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him.

Professor Lupin stared down at the potion and then looked over at Harry with a grimace.

"It's a pity that sugar ruins this," Professor Lupin said, picking up the goblet and then downing its contents quickly.

"Umm… Snape is, err, well he's rather good at making poisons, err, I mean, potions," Harry said, try to subtly hint to Professor Lupin that Snape might have just set down a steaming cup of poison. With the way Snape had been acting towards Professor Lupin, Harry thought that it was very likely that Snape would try to kill Harry's favorite professor in order for Snape to get his coveted position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Yes, he is," Professor Lupin agreed, sounding a bit sad. "Well, Harry, as much as I've enjoyed our conversation, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get back to grading those papers that I told you about earlier."

"Oh! Of course," Harry said, standing up and turning to leave. "Thanks for taking the time to talk with me."

"You're more than welcome to come and talk with me anytime you wish, Harry," Professor Lupin said.

Harry smiled widely in response as he opened the door and left the room.

...

Harry and Snuffles were sitting in the Common Room, watching the comings and goings of the Gryffindors. Well, Harry was sitting in one of the armchairs and Snuffles was laying down at his feet, looking pretty despondent. Now that Harry thought about it, Snuffles had seemed dejected since they both had gotten up this morning.

After a few minutes of noise as a lot of students dropped off the stuff they got in Hogsmeade before leaving again, the Common Room had become quiet since most of the Gryffindors were now at the Halloween feast. Harry wanted to wait for Ron and Hermione, but it was getting later and the feast would soon be in full swing. Also, Harry thought that maybe some food would help cheer Snuffles up since the dog hadn't really eaten anything at breakfast or lunch.

Just as Harry was about to call it quits and take Snuffles down to the feast with him, Ron and Hermione came through the portrait opening. And it looked like Ron and Hermione were friendly towards each other once again. Hopefully they wouldn't start fighting again at the Halloween feast.

"Harry! There you are!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Here I am?" Harry questioned as he stood up from the chair to greet his friends.

"We looked around the castle for you since we weren't entirely sure if you'd be in here or not," Hermione explained.

"Yeah, we thought you might've already made your way down to the feast," Ron said.

"Nope," said Harry. "I was waiting for you guys. Although, if you were any later, Snuffles and I might've went on without you."

"Here," Hermione said, offering him a wrapped bundle. "Like we promised, we brought you some candy."

"Thank you both," Harry said sincerely.

"No trouble at all, mate," Ron said cheerfully.

"So, what did you get up to today?" Hermione asked as she watched Harry look through the candy he just received.

"Nothing much. I mainly stayed with Snuffles. He's been acting kinda sad all day and I'm worried that he might be getting sick or something," Harry said. "But! I did have some tea with Professor Lupin right after you guys left. I sat and talked with him for a little over an hour."

"Really? What'd you and Professor Lupin talk about?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it was mainly about defense, but I did get around to asking him about why he didn't let me face that Boggart," Harry said.

"Yeah? What was his reason?" Ron asked.

"He was worried that the Boggart would've transformed into Voldemort and he didn't think that was something that a roomful of third years should be exposed to," Harry said.

"You know, I hadn't even thought of that," Hermione said.

"Yeah, me neither," Harry said. "Mainly because I think my Boggart would've been a Dementor."

"Wanna head to the feast now?" Ron asked, changing the subject as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Yeah, sure!" Harry said. "Let me just run this candy up to our room and then we can go."

After a quick jaunt up and then down the stairs, Harry returned to where his friends were waiting by the armchair that Snuffles was laying under.

"Come on, Snuffles," Harry said. "Let's go get something to eat."

Snuffles reluctantly got up, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione started walking towards the portrait opening. As they left the Common Room, the three friends walked side by side, but Snuffles trailed along behind Harry, slowly shuffling down the corridors with his head down.

"Also," Harry spoke up. "Right before I left Professor Lupin's office, Snape came in with a steaming goblet of… something. I don't exactly know what it was."

"Poison?" Ron asked. "I mean, Snape's been after the Defense position forever. And he really seems to hate Professor Lupin almost as much as he seems to hate you."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Harry said. "I tried to kind of hint that it might be poison, but Professor Lupin drank it before I really had the chance to say anything. Professor Lupin only said something along the lines of sugar ruining it. So…"

"Maybe he's sick or something," Hermione suggested. "If he knows that sugar ruins the potion, then that would probably mean he's familiar with it."

"I dunno," Harry said as they finally reached the doors to the Great Hall.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely ready to eat," Ron said, taking bigger steps so that he could enter the Great Hall first. "I'm starving!"

"You're always hungry, Ron," Hermione said, rolling her eyes as she, Harry, and Snuffles followed Ron into the Great Hall.

...

Snuffles laid his head down on Harry's knee, mostly refusing to eat anything that Harry had offered him. Snuffles nibbled a little at one slice of roast pork before refusing to eat that as well. And the only reason he had even nibbled at it was because Harry had been begging him to eat something.

At the moment, the problem with Snuffles was that everything that he put in his mouth to eat tasted like sawdust. He just couldn't stomach anything today.

Today was October 31st. The day when, many years ago, everything changed. The day when his life turned upside down and he lost two friends. The day when he was betrayed. When Lily was betrayed. When James was betrayed. The day that they died and the day that he was thrown into Azkaban.

He just couldn't eat anything. Not today.

Snuffles lost track of how much time had passed, which was something that was happening quite often today. But, eventually, Harry moved to get up which dislodged Snuffles' head from its resting place on Harry's knee.

Snuffles stared up at Harry from under the table as Harry was standing up and saying his goodbyes to his friends. When Harry patted his leg and called for Snuffles to join him, Snuffles shuffled out from under the table.

As the two of them left the Great Hall and started walking down one of the corridors that would eventually lead them to Gryffindor Tower, Snuffles found it difficult to keep putting one paw in front of the other. Harry kept getting farther and farther away from him.

All Snuffles could think about was that, around this time of night on that day years ago, the door to Lily and James' home had been blown of off its hinges. Around this time of night, James had been… Lily had been…

Around this time of night, Harry had been made an orphan.

Every so often, Harry would glance back at Snuffles and wait for him to catch up, asking Snuffles about what was wrong, but Snuffles wouldn't respond. Snuffles would just keep slowly moving forward. Other than Harry asking Snuffles an occasional question or two, the castle was quiet. Almost all of the students were still at the Halloween feast.

Once again, Harry was further away from Snuffles, but Snuffles figured that Harry would look back again soon and wait for him to catch up. Snuffles saw Harry turn the corner to the corridor that would get them to the set of stairs that would then lead them directly to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Suddenly, Snuffles heard a muffled yelp. It came from around the corner that Harry just disappeared behind.

Snuffles, fearing that something was happening to Harry, broke out into a run as he raced down the corridor and turned the corner to get to where he had last seen Harry go.

But as Snuffles looked down the long corridor, Harry was nowhere to been seen.

Everything was silent once again. Snuffles was the only one around.

Harry was missing.

Harry was _gone_.

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Dun, dun, dun…

I kind of struggled with the title of this chapter… and I'm still not entirely happy with it. But, hey, I think it'll work for now.

Any mistakes, grammar or otherwise, are my own. Let me know if you see anything that you think needs to be corrected.


	6. Clues and Consequences

**Chapter Six:** ** _Clues and Consequences_**

At first, Remus brushed off his suspicions. He had had some concerns in the beginning, but he figured that he was just being paranoid.

Remus had been enjoying a conversation with Minerva and Filius when he noticed Harry get up from the Gryffindor table with his dog.

 _'It's just a dog,'_ he thought, taking a deep breath and trying to be rational. _'I haven't even been able to get a good look at the damned thing…'_

Remus was as tense as a bowstring, seated in his chair as he idly moved the food around on his plate, closely watching the Gryffindor table.

As his thoughts took a darker, more paranoid turn, he excused himself from the conversation, since he wasn't really paying attention to it anymore. That was bad manners and he didn't want to be rude to his colleagues.

 _'I'm being ridiculous. It's just a dog.'_

Even now, Remus couldn't really see much of the dog other than its' large, black form trailing morosely behind Harry as the two of them left the Great Hall. Usually, Harry's dog would leave the Great Hall like it'd been shot out of a cannon.

 _'Why would Harry's dog change its habit now? Is there something wrong with it? The dog always leaves so quickly that Harry's normally left in the dust. It's probably part of the reason why I haven't really been able to get a good look at the dog.'_

He stopped to reconsider his last thought. Remus suddenly gripped the fork that he had in his hand so tight he could swear he heard it creaking.

 _'I haven't been able to get a good look at the dog. All of the other professors have been talking about the dog. About how friendly he seems. About how he always seems to be with Harry. All of the other professors have seen or interacted with the dog, but I haven't had the chance to get a good look. Why?'_

He shouldn't be jumping to conclusions. There had to be a reasonable explanation.

 _'The dog is avoiding me.'_

There has to be something, some logical reason, for why the dog was avoiding him.

 _'Why? What possible reason could there be for a dog, for Harry's dog, to avoid me? Why avoid anyone at all? Why avoid me? Whenever I happen to come across Harry outside of class…'_

It couldn't be a coincidence.

 _'…The dog is nowhere to be seen.'_

What he was thinking of was insane, absolutely insane, but what other answer could there be?

 _'Whenever I come near Harry outside of class, it's usually clear that the dog had just been with Harry. The dog just happened to leave Harry's side seconds before I appeared. Why?!'_

It was impossible.

 _'Minerva said Harry found the dog near the end of his summer break.'_

No.

 _'Harry's dog is black and large, just like…'_

It was improbable, but not entirely impossible.

 _'It can't be! All of it fits, but I don't want to believe it. It just can't be…'_

If he was right, if what he thought was true, then it would change _everything_.

...

Harry was _gone._

Harry was _missing._

 _'No._

 _No. No! No! NO! NO! NO!_

 _Harry was just right there! Right in front of me!'_

Snuffles raced down the hall, all previous despair forgotten in his need to find Harry. He was straining to hear anything, anything at all, but he heard nothing that could direct him to where Harry was. Snuffles could only hear the sound of his own panting breaths, the sound of his heart pumping like mad, and the sound of his claws clicking loudly against the tiled floors as he ran.

 _'That rat must've grabbed him! He must've found out about me! That rat knows about me! I thought Harry would be safe with me, but that rat grabbed him right out from under my nose! Peter, that rat bastard! I'll make him rue the day he ever met me if he's harmed Harry in any way!'_

Snuffles made it to the end of the hall and was faced with the choice of going right or left.

 _'Now that he has a hostage, that rat will probably try to leave Hogwarts – I have to get to the grounds before he can apparate away with Harry!'_

Snuffles went to the right and dove behind a tapestry that hid a secret passageway. The dog raced through the completely dark passage, trusting that it would lead him to where he remembered it went, to where he needed to go.

Once upon a time, he knew these passageways like the back of his hand; now he has to trust that his memory hasn't failed him and that this passage, this shortcut, would lead him to the castle's entryway.

After what seemed like a lifetime, but was actually only a few moments, in the passage, Snuffles scampered out from behind yet another tapestry and skidded to a stop in front of the large castle doors.

As Snuffles was catching his breath, he looked around for anything out of the ordinary.

There was no one in sight.

The only sounds he could hear was a dull cacophony of excitement coming from the Great Hall.

Where was that rat?

Where was Harry?

The castle doors were firmly shut.

Someone should've heard them open… if they had been opened at all.

He hadn't, no, they hadn't come this way.

 _'Damn it all!'_

Snuffles turned and ran as fast as he could away from the entryway and down another corridor.

 _'One door, two door, three door… come on, come on! First tapestry, forth door, second tapestry, fifth door, and – Ah ha! Sixth door that's not a door, but a wall!'_

Snuffles ran head first towards the wall that was pretending to be a door. At the bottom of the wall was a disguised opening which Snuffles raced through with no problem. The passageway started out small and grew larger the farther a person continued going through it.

The passage let Snuffles out one corridor away from his goal of the One-Eyed Witch statue. Snuffles breezed through the corridor and turned down the hallway that would lead him to the secret passageway that would allow a person to pass from the castle to Honeydukes' cellar in Hogsmeade.

Snuffles barely stopped in time to avoid being seen.

Two ghosts were completely blocking the One-Eyed Witch statue. Snuffles, just out of sight, risked staying a few moments to see if the ghosts were, perhaps, talking about a man and a boy going through the One-Eyed Witch passage. Straining forward, Snuffles heard the ghosts complaining about something that happened at the annual Deathday Party that Sir Nicholas puts on. But the ghosts made no mentions about anyone alive being anywhere near the statue. And from the way the ghosts were carrying on, it seemed like they had been complaining in that spot for a while.

So that rat didn't take Harry through the One-Eyed Witch passage to Hogsmeade.

 _'Where could he have taken Harry?! Where… Wait!'_

Snuffles turned back down the corridor from whence he came and began running towards a passageway that he knew led out of the castle.

It took a few minutes to get there, but Snuffles finally made it to the secret passage. Huffing and puffing, an out of breath Snuffles nosed the large painting out of the way and stepped into the passage, kicking up some dust as he did so.

He made it a few feet into the passageway, only to come to an abrupt stop.

The passageway was caved in.

 _'No. No. No. No! NO!_

 _That rat must've done this to cover his tracks! He has Harry and he's already got a huge head start!'_

Snuffles turned around and ran back out of the passageway.

 _'What do I do?! What do I do?! What – Wait! The floo! I can – I'll just floo to the Three Broomsticks and race back up towards the castle. If I can get there fast enough, I should be able to stop that rat before he leaves the castle's wards with Harry.'_

Snuffles started to run towards McGonagall's office. He was halfway there before he stopped.

 _'Minnie will have wards prevent floo travel without her permission – she always did when I was a student! Damn it!_

 _What do I do?!_

 _I can't!_

 _I…_

 _Harry's in danger!_

 _Harry's in danger again!_

 _Harry's in danger again and I'm absolutely useless!_

 _What do I do?!_

 _Think, damn you! Think!'_

Snuffles started running down the corridors in a blind panic, not really knowing where he was going – just that he had to get to Harry.

 _'I could… Yes! A locator spell!'_

Snuffles stopped in the middle of a corridor.

 _'I haven't had a chance to grab a wand, but I'm sure I can manage this spell wandlessly – I have to. It's my only chance to save Harry. It will work because it has to.'_

Unmindful of his surroundings, Snuffles transformed into Sirius Black.

Sirius, focusing on his magic and willing it to work properly, cast a locator spell.

A pause.

For a moment, nothing happened.

But then, Sirius felt a small tug behind his chest, urging him forward.

 _'Hold on, Harry! I'm coming!'_

Smiling manically because the spell had worked, Sirius raced down the corridors, twisting and turning when the spell indicated he should move. Sometimes he would have to quickly back track when the spell led him into an unforgiving wall.

After running through the castle's corridors, the spell led Snuffles straight to Gryffindor Tower, right up to the portrait of the Fat Lady. The spell was still urging him forward. Harry was somewhere inside.

The Fat Lady, not looking up from pouring wine in her cup, droned, "Password?"

As Snuffles, Sirius hadn't needed to pay attention to the passwords that the students used to enter the Gryffindor Common Room. He was regretting not paying attention to what passwords they used now.

"I-I don't know. I don't know and I don't care! Let me through!" Sirius exclaimed. "I need to get through!"

"Excuse you. No password, no entry," said the Fat Lady, who finally looked up and slopped some wine out of the cup she was holding as she jumped back in shock at seeing a man instead of a student.

"Let me pass! You don't understand! You have to let me through!" Snuffles exclaimed frantically. "He's in danger! I need to get through NOW!"

"No! Be gone!" the Fat Lady demanded. "Or else I'll send out an alert to a professor!"

Sirius was frantic, bordering on hysterical, at the thought that Harry was being harmed in the next room and Sirius was unable to go help him because this damned portrait was refusing to let him through.

"Let. Me. Pass!" Sirius angrily exclaimed. "NOW!"

Sirius' adrenaline was pumping and he felt as if he was hyper aware of everything. As the Fat Lady scowled at him and opened her mouth to respond, Sirius began a partial animagus transformation centered on his right hand.

"Leave!" the Fat Lady responded. "I'm going to alert –"

But the Fat Lady didn't get a chance to finish.

Sirius saw red and slashed her portrait with the claws he was now sporting on his right hand. The Fat Lady barely avoided being slashed as well. She ran screaming from her portrait that now had long slashes ripped through the canvas.

Sirius let out a rage-filled scream at being barred from entering the Common Room, at being stopped from being able to rescue Harry.

Sirius slowly came back to his senses and began to hear the other portraits shouting phrases like "This way!" and "He's over here! Hurry!". He could also hear the pounding of feet coming from off to his right.

Realizing that he just exposed himself, Sirius raced of as quietly as he could in the opposite direction of whoever it was that had been coming towards the Gryffindor Common Room entrance. Sirius knew that if he had stayed there, then the attention would have been focused on him, leaving Harry vulnerable with that rat. Now, the professors' main priority would be to check over every inch of Gryffindor Tower – which would mean that they'd find Harry a lot faster than Sirius could at the moment.

 _'As long as Harry is found safe, that's all that matters.'_

Sirius ducked into the first secret passageway that he knew of. He walked a few steps farther into it and stopped, slowing his breathing down and trying to calm his racing heart.

Harry would be found soon. And the only way that Sirius could get close enough to Harry to make sure that he's not hurt, that he's safe, would be to turn back into Snuffles.

So Sirius transformed into Snuffles.

Snuffles stayed in the passageway for a few moments longer to make sure that he had his emotions under control. He didn't want to act overly aggressive, because if he did, he was sure that he wouldn't be allowed near Harry. Especially if Harry had just been freed from being that rat's hostage.

Snuffles padded out of the passageway and quickly made his way back towards the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. As he got closer, Snuffles could see a large group of Gryffindors slowly trickling into the Common Room under the watchful eyes of Professors McGonagall and Lupin.

Although Snuffles had been trying his best to avoid Remus, this was one time were he wouldn't go out of his way to get away from the man. If Snuffles had to pass by Remus to get to Harry, then that's exactly what Snuffles would do.

Snuffles managed to worm his way into the middle of the group of Gryffindors that was steadily walking into the Common Room. Once he entered the Common Room, he parted from the group and looked for Dumbledore; because if Harry had just been rescued, well, then he'd most likely be near Dumbledore – if he hadn't already been taken to Madam Pomfrey.

Before Snuffles could survey the entire room, someone called his name. A very familiar someone.

"Snuffles!" Harry called out with a small grin as he stood up from the couch that he'd been sitting on with Ron and Hermione. "Hey boy! I was worried about you."

 _'What?'_

Snuffles froze where he stood, utterly bewildered. Harry looked absolutely fine, perhaps a little disgruntled, but completely fine. His friends, Ron and Hermione, looked as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened as well. The only thing that looked somewhat out of place was that they were all dressed in their pajamas.

 _'What is going on here?'_

"Come here, Snuffles," Harry said happily.

Still confused, Snuffles complied and ran over to Harry, almost bowling him over.

"Woah, there!" Harry softly laughed. "Now, where did you get off to, huh? I was really worried when I couldn't find you. I was about to go out and search the entire castle for you."

As Harry sank down to his knees to embrace Snuffles, Snuffles hid his face in the crook of Harry's neck, relieved that Harry was here in front of him, safe and sound.

Snuffles was relieved, yes, but still utterly confused.

If the rat didn't kidnap Harry, then what had happened to him?

...

Snuffles had been acting off all day. He hadn't eaten anything at breakfast, hadn't eaten anything at lunch, and now, he wasn't eating anything at the Halloween feast.

Harry was worried that Snuffles was getting sick.

"Come on, Snuffles. It's delicious, I promise," Harry softly coaxed as he bent down to look under the table at Snuffles.

Harry tried to persuade Snuffles to eat by waving a slice a roasted pork in front of the dog's face. So far, Snuffles had refused everything that Harry had offered him to eat in favor of resting his head on Harry's knee.

"Please eat something, Snuffles," Harry quietly begged. "You haven't eaten anything all day and I'm really worried about you. Are you not feeling well?"

Snuffles shifted his head to glance up at Harry, so Harry wiggled the slice of pork, trying to entice the dog to eat some of it. Snuffles shifted his gaze from Harry to the meat, back to Harry, and then back to the meat. After a second or two, Snuffles tentatively moved his head and grabbed the slice of pork between his teeth.

Under Harry's watchful gaze, Snuffles nibbled at the pork.

"Are you gonna spend the entire feast hunched over and looking under the table?" Ron asked from where he was sitting on Harry's left side.

"Yes, I am because it's so comfortable," Harry sarcastically replied as he sat up properly at the table.

"Is Snuffles still not eating?" Hermione asked from Harry's other side.

"Well, I've managed to get him to at least take the pork, but he wasn't really eating it," Harry said, sounding concerned.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Hermione said. "And if he's still acting funny tomorrow morning, you could take him down to Hagrid and have him take a look at Snuffles."

"Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea," Harry said. "Thanks!"

"So, on a completely unrelated note, have you recently done anything to Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"No, why?" Harry asked.

"Because he's been glaring at you," Ron interrupted. "We noticed it, well, Hermione noticed it first and then she poked me; and then I noticed him glaring at you when you dived under the table."

"I didn't dive under the table. I just hunched over a bit," Harry said. "Is he still glaring at me right now?"

Hermione barely turned her head, glancing at the Slytherin table out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes, but don't turn around to look at him. It'd be too obvious. Just turn to fully face Ron and pretend to be talking to him and glance at the Slytherin table, you'll see him," Hermione advised.

Harry turned around to look at Malfoy, completely disregarding Hermione's advice.

Hermione let out a completely aggravated sigh as she said, "Why do I even bother?"

Malfoy had been glaring at Harry as he ate, and when he noticed that Harry was staring at him, Malfoy's glare intensified.

"Huh," Harry said, turning back around. "I have no idea what I did."

Harry went back to eating his meal, talking with Ron and Hermione (and carefully directing the conversation away from anything related to cats or rats), and occasionally glancing back at Malfoy – who continued to glare at Harry throughout the meal.

And Snuffles still wasn't really eating anything. The slice of pork that Harry had given Snuffles had been discarded on the floor with barely a bite taken out of it.

Normally Harry would sit around and wait for his friends to finish eating, and since it was a special occasion, the Halloween feast, Harry would usually stick around with his friends and talk at the table until long after dessert had been served. But, with Snuffles acting the way he was, Harry decided to leave the feast early to take Snuffles back to his room. Maybe if Snuffles got settled down and went to bed, he'd feel better in the morning. And if not, then Harry would be taking Snuffles to see Hagrid first thing in the morning.

Harry stood up and called Snuffles to him. While he was waiting for Snuffles to come, Harry said his goodbyes to his friends.

On his way out of the Great Hall, Harry noticed that Malfoy was still glaring at him from his seat at the Slytherin table.

It was a very slow process, walking through the corridors with Snuffles, since Snuffles seemed to be almost asleep on his feet. Harry would walk through the hall and look down at Snuffles only to notice that the dog wasn't at his side anymore; instead, Snuffles would be slowly making his way down the same hall, but far behind Harry.

Harry had asked Snuffles a couple of times if everything was alright, but the dog wouldn't respond. Snuffles would just keep walking, so Harry figured that once they made it to his room, he could talk to Snuffles and try to figure out what was wrong with his dog.

Harry knew that Snuffles had been acting weird lately, but his behavior today had been really out of character for the dog. Snuffles seemed, well, despondent. Harry hadn't seen Snuffles seem so depressed before so the dog's behavior today was really concerning.

Since Harry was preoccupied with his thoughts, he would accidently walk too far ahead of Snuffles (because Snuffles was following behind Harry at a very slow pace) and then Harry would wait for Snuffles to catch up.

Harry rounded a corner and then noticed that Snuffles had fallen behind once again. So, as Harry turned around to wait for the dog, the door that Harry happened to be standing beside quietly opened.

Suddenly, there was a hand over his mouth and someone was dragging him backwards into a room. Harry couldn't see who had grabbed him since whoever it was turned him around and pushed him farther into the room. As he was being shoved forwards, Harry heard whoever it was that had grabbed him silently shutting the door and locking it.

Harry quickly grabbed his wand, positioned it in front of him defensively, and turned around; only to almost drop his wand in shock. Which gave the person in front of him time to finish the – were those silencing wards he was putting up?

Harry couldn't believe it!

The person who grabbed him was…

Well, actually, he could believe it. Harry just hadn't been expecting it.

"Merlin! Could you walk _any_ slower?!" Malfoy exclaimed as he turned away from the door to face Harry.

"What? I – _Malfoy?_ What are you – Why did you grab me? I mean, really, _what the hell_ , Malfoy?!" Harry almost shouted before lowering his voice a bit. "And why aren't you at the Halloween feast?"

"Well, I could ask you the same thing, now couldn't I?" Malfoy said smartly.

"Malfoy," Harry said through gritted teeth.

Malfoy clicked his tongue and sighed.

"I was at the feast, but then I left shortly after I saw you leave. I wasn't sure if I could get to you before you made it to your common room, but well, as I said before, you are so slow," Malfoy said, looking somewhat smug. "And I'm not at the feast because we need to talk… Privately."

"Talk? Talk about what?" Harry questioned. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"Yes. Talk… So, what do you want?" Malfoy asked with a frown as he glared at Harry. As if it as Harry's fault that Malfoy decided to just pull him into this empty room.

"What?" Harry asked, also glaring, but more than slightly confused as to what exactly was happening. When Harry saw that it was Malfoy who pulled him into the room, he expected to get hexed. Call him paranoid, but a few weeks of relatively good behavior from Malfoy didn't erase a two year history of fights and hexes exchanged between them.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Malfoy repeated, sounding particularly put out.

"What do you mean 'what do I want'? What do _you_ want?" Harry asked defensively. Harry still had his wand in his hand, but he kept it pointing down at the floor.

"Really, Potter? Is this how you're going to play it?" Malfoy questioned, crossing his arms across his chest and looking down his nose at Harry, as if Harry was an annoying child.

"Play what?!" Harry was so confused.

"How tedious," Malfoy drawled. "I don't have all night, Scarhead. Just get to the point."

"Seriously, Malfoy. I don't know what you're expecting me to say," Harry said, peeved at the way that Malfoy was looking at him. "You're the one who pulled me in here. And if you'd move two steps to the right, then I could leave just as easily."

"Why…" Malfoy paused, as if he was looking for the right way to phrase what he was about to say. "Why did you do it? Push me out of the way of that Hippogriff? Are you expecting a favor or something?"

"What – No!" Harry denied. "A favor? Why would I… Why are you bringing this up now? It happened weeks ago! Look, I'm not asking for a favor, alright? That's not why I did it."

"Well, then why did you? Huh? Why did you do it?" Malfoy asked angrily.

"What else was I supposed to do? Just let you be trampled?" Harry asked rhetorically.

"Yes!" Malfoy exclaimed in a frustrated burst, either not catching onto the fact that it was a rhetorical question, or more likely, electing to ignore that it was rhetorical. "That's exactly what you were supposed to do. We don't like each other. We aren't friends. In fact, I think I can safely say that we hate each other. But now that your hero-complex kicked in," Malfoy continued to speak over Harry's protests of " _I do not have a hero-complex!"_ "Yes, you do. You have a hero-complex – I've heard the rumors and I've heard the stories. And because of that, now I'm getting asked uncomfortable questions about my relationship to you."

" _Relationship?!_ What relationship?! We have no relationship!" Harry denied vehemently.

"Exactly! We have nothing to do with each other, but your little stunt the other day –" Malfoy explained.

" _My_ little stunt?" Harry interrupted incredulously.

"– has had certain people questioning my position in ways that I'd rather have them not. Some people are under the impression that, because you… helped me out the other day, we now have some type of understanding. Which we most certainly do not! So thanks a lot, Saint Potter," Malfoy finished sarcastically.

"You know," Harry began after a brief pause, trying to wrap his mind around what Malfoy was saying. "If this is the thanks I get for pushing you out of the way, for saving you from getting –"

"I didn't ask you to save me!" Malfoy yelled, his face turning red in anger. "I didn't ask you to tackle me out of the way! And I certainly didn't ask you to get hurt on my behalf! I don't like owning anyone anything, Potter. So until this thing, whatever it is between us, is cleared up –"

"I just saved you the hassle of walking up to the Hospital Wing," Harry interrupted, consciously making an effort not to yell back at Malfoy. "For a simple scratch on the arm! That's all. It wasn't a big deal! If it had been anyone else in the way of a raging Hippogriff, I would've done the exact same thing for them that I did for you."

"But that's the point! You didn't do it for anyone else!" Malfoy shouted, before pausing and then continuing in a softer voice. "You did it for me. You pushed _me_ out of the way. And now we're stuck in this situation."

"What situation, Malfoy?! Because, really, I don't see any problem. What do you expect me to do? Huh?" Harry asked sardonically as he tightened his grip on his wand. "Should I go find another raging Hippogriff and push you into its path? Perhaps we should make a spectacle of it? Yeah? Why don't we do it in front of the entire school? Have an audience of the entire student body. No awkward questions for you after that. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll knock some sense into you because right now, you're not making a whole lot of it."

"Damn it, Potter! This is not a joking matter!" Malfoy exclaimed, glaring glacially at Harry. "We need to fix this. _You_ need to fix this."

"Oh, it's not funny?" Harry questioned, starting to raise his voice in anger. "Well, I'm finding this situation hilarious. Absolutely hilarious! No, really," Harry held up his hand to stop Malfoy from speaking. "How do you not see the humor in this, in what you're asking of me? ' _Fix this,_ ' you say! So should I go around and tell every person that I see that we… what? That we hate each other? That 'oh yeah, we are totally not friends and we definitely don't have an understanding because Malfoy's definitely going the way of evil. I just pushed him out of the way for the hell of it'. Huh? Is that what you're asking of me? Because that kinda sounds like what you're asking."

"I'm being serious, Potter!" Malfoy was grinding his teeth so hard, Harry half expected to hear Malfoy's teeth start to crack.

"And so am I," Harry said flatly.

"No. You're not," Malfoy said. "I don't think you understand the position you've placed me in."

"Then, enlighten me," Harry suggested. "Tell me all about how I've inconvenienced you… Oh, wait, you already have."

"Whatever, Potter, just…" Malfoy made a frustrated noise. "Look, why don't I just help you plan or go over whatever plan you've cooked up so far. Then we'll call ourselves even and the people asking awkward questions will be satisfied. I won't owe you anything for… that thing with the Hippogriff, and you won't hold that incident over my head for any reason in the future, alright? Then we can go back to how everything was before that stupid class."

"What? No!" Now Harry was confused again. "What do you mean by plan?"

"Oh, don't be coy with me, Potter," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "You might have the 'Gryffindor Golden Boy' routine," Malfoy actually used air quotes as he was talking, "going for you, but you can't honestly tell me you don't want revenge."

"Revenge?" Harry warily asked. But Malfoy just continued talking.

"Whatever plan you've made is probably filled with stupidity since you're a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors are all about putting on a show upfront, I swear, no subtlety at all. And if you want to survive against him with whatever revenge plan you're thinking of, you'll probably need some Slytherin smarts and insight… Unless," Malfoy squinted suspiciously at Harry, "you're planning some type of 'if I'm going down then you're going down with me' showdown. Because if you are, then honestly, I can't help you because you are beyond stupid."

"Revenge against who?" Harry asked, probably with more force than was necessary. "And don't call me stupid, you're the one who insults Hippogriffs."

"What do you mean 'revenge against who'?" Malfoy questioned, not saying anything about the Hippogriff comment. "Black, of course! I mean, I figured you've been planning your revenge against him for a while now. Probably since you heard of his escape. I know I would've."

"You're talking about Sirius Black?" Harry clarified.

"…Yes?" Malfoy was looking at Harry like he just asked a particularly stupid question.

"Why would I want revenge against Black?"

"Why would you…" Malfoy began incredulously. "Why wouldn't you want revenge against him? I mean, come on, Potter!"

"…I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Harry said.

Malfoy threw his hands up in the air.

"Hopeless! You. Are. Hopeless! Merlin, I don't know why I even bothered!" Malfoy exclaimed. "Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes Gryffindor doesn't want revenge against Black for what he did."

"What did Black do?" Harry asked, getting angry at the insinuations that Malfoy was making.

"You don't… You don't know?!" Malfoy exclaimed disbelieving laugh. "No. Nope. I'm done! If you really don't know, then, for once, I'm not going to be the guy to rub your face in it. Although it is oh so tempting for me to want to do so. But I won't," Malfoy smirked. "Because just the knowledge that I know about something this big and you know nothing about it…Well, I think I'll be lording this over you for quite a while. And you can consider this half of your pay back for… that thing you did. You figure it out, what Black did, and then you come to me… And then I'll rub it in your face and help with you're stupid revenge plan because you're absolutely hopeless. I almost feel sorry for you. I don't know how anyone puts up with Gryffindors. You're hopeless. You're all stupidly hopeless."

"Just tell me, Malfoy!" Harry glared at Malfoy.

"No. I am done with this whole conversation. Figure it out yourself, Scarhead! It's not that hard if you actually use that thing in your head that's between your ears," Malfoy said before he slashed his wand through the air, canceling the silencing ward, and then unlocking and opening the door.

"Malfoy!" Harry shouted, dashing out the door to see Malfoy walking down the corridor.

"No!" Malfoy exclaimed as he continued to walk away.

Harry stood in the corridor until Malfoy was out of sight, and even then, Harry stood still in stunned disbelief at what had just happened.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to even respond to that," Harry murmured to himself.

Heaving a sigh, Harry stomped off towards the direction of Gryffindor Tower and grumbled under his breath about annoying and frustrating gits who used way too much hair gel and were way too vague.

Harry gave the Fat Lady the password and enter the Common Room. He stomped over to a couch and threw himself down on it, thinking about what Malfoy had said.

 _'What could Black have done that Malfoy thinks I would want to get revenge against that man? I mean, I read about what Black did in the paper, but why would Malfoy think I'd want revenge for that? It was horrible, but it's not something I would avenge… There has to be something else, something that I'm missing. But what?'_

"Harry!"

Harry was startled out of his thoughts at the sound of Hermione's voice. Ron plopped down on the seat next to him and Hermione sat down on the other side of Harry.

"Hermione! Ron! I thought you'd still be at the feast," Harry said, surprised to see them so soon.

"Well, we stayed for dessert," Ron said.

"But we decided to come up and keep you company," Hermione said. "Since we spent most of the day apart."

"Besides, the feast was almost over anyway," Ron said. "I'm pretty sure everyone else will be coming up soon."

"Thanks guys," Harry said with a small smile.

"So, what's on your mind?" Hermione asked.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You were looking pretty serious when we first came in, mate," Ron said.

"And you didn't notice us until I said your name and Ron flopped down on the couch," Hermione said.

"Ah… It's nothing," Harry said.

"Nothing?" Hermione repeated skeptically.

"Well, it's… I just…" Harry trailed off with a sigh.

"Is it Snuffles?" Hermione asked.

"Snuffles?" Harry questioned before standing up and frantically looking around the room. "Oh Merlin!"

"We could take him down to Hagrid now, if you're that worried," Ron said. "I'm sure Hagrid's still in the Great Hall so we wouldn't get in trouble for trying to get to Hagrid at his hut."

"No! No, I… Snuffles was with me when I left the Great Hall, but he's not here! He didn't come with me to the Common Room because –" Harry cut himself off.

"Because what?" Hermione asked. "What happened?"

"I just ran into someone on the way here," Harry said, feeling really bad about leaving Snuffles by himself and then not realizing that he had done that until just now. "It was nothing, but I got separated from Snuffles!"

"I'm sure he's fine, Harry," Hermione said.

"We could help you go look for him now," Ron suggested. "I'm sure he's just wandering around the castle."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go," Harry said.

Hermione nodded her head and she got up off of the couch. Ron also stood and, together, the three friends made their way towards the Common Room entrance. Harry reached out a hand and pushed against the door to open it, but it wouldn't move.

Harry brought both hands up and shoved hard against the back of the portrait that guarded the entrance, but it still wouldn't budge.

"It won't open. Why won't it open?" Harry asked, turning to Hermione.

Ron and Hermione also pushed against the portrait, getting the same result as Harry. Hermione also tried an unlocking spell, but that also yielded no results.

"Maybe the Fat Lady left?" Ron suggested.

"No, if the Fat Lady left, then we could still get out of the Common Room, but we wouldn't be able to get back in. We should be able to get out," Hermione said. "I don't know what's happening."

 _'Well, this night is just getting better and better,'_ Harry thought sarcastically.

"So, Snuffles is somewhere out there and we're stuck in here for some reason," Harry said. "This is just great."

 _"ALL STUDENTS ARE TO REMAIN IN THE GREAT HALL UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. ANY STUDENTS NOT IN THEIR DORMITORY OR THE GREAT HALL ARE TO REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL IMMEDIATELY. ANY STUDENTS INSIDE THEIR DORMITORY ARE TO REMAIN WHERE THEY ARE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."_

"What… What is going on?" Hermione asked in response to the announcement that had just sounded throughout the room. The few other Gryffindors who had been up in their rooms were coming down the stairs and slowly entering the Common Room. Some looked scared, others looked confused.

"I have no idea," Harry responded. It seemed like the theme of this evening was 'let's confuse Harry'. First Snuffles' weird behavior, then Malfoy and his cryptic statements, and now this.

"Well, I guess we might as well go back to sitting on that couch," Ron said. "It seems like we're going to be here for a while."

"But what about Snuffles?" Harry asked. He didn't want to just abandon his dog when there was something weird going on in the castle. What if Snuffles was in trouble? How was Harry supposed to get to him now?

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Hermione said as she, Harry, and Ron walked over to the couch and sat back down. "As soon as we can leave the Common Room, we'll go look for him."

"Right. Okay," Harry agreed, but he was still worried about Snuffles being alone out there.

Not really wanting to talk about Snuffles, or anything else of importance, while there were other Gryffindors sitting around the Common Room, Harry sat with Ron and Hermione in tense silence.

Harry could hear a few of his fellow Gryffindors having hushed conversations around the room, but Harry couldn't really make out what they were saying, only that they sounded concerned.

After about five or ten minutes, the portrait opened and in walked Professor McGonagall.

"Professor, what's happening?" Hermione asked, standing up from the couch. Harry and Ron also stood up beside her.

"Now, there's no need to panic. We have the situation under control," Professor McGonagall said. "But, with that being said, Sirius Black was seen in the castle tonight."

Many of the Gryffindors, Hermione included, gasped and Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"He saw fit to attack the Fat Lady in order to try to gain entry to this room, but he was prevented from making any further attacks. Professor Dumbledore is just outside the Tower securing another portrait to guard the entrance to the Common Room while the Fat Lady's portrait is being repaired and the Fat Lady recuperates from the trauma that she suffered," Professor McGonagall stated in a calm voice.

Immediately, the room breaks out into frantic whispering.

"Silence, please, for just a moment longer," Professor McGonagall said, and everyone in the room stopped talking. "Thank you. The rest of your Gryffindor classmates will be returning from the feast in a few minutes. Professor Lupin will be escorting them here and then we both shall stay here until everyone has whatever it is that they need for the night. Then, as a group, Professor Lupin and I will escort you all down to the Great Hall where all of the students will be spending the night. Whilst you and your fellow students are in the Great Hall for the night, we, the professors, shall ensure that Black is no longer anywhere in or near Hogwarts. And we shall be increasing our security measures. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione went their separate ways to go get dressed in their pajamas and then returned to the Common Room. The three of them sat back down on the couch and noticed that a few students were talking to Professor McGonagall.

Eventually, the other Gryffindors that had still been in the Great Hall started walking into the Common Room. And that's when Harry saw Snuffles enter the Common Room with a group of forth years.

"Snuffles!" Harry called out as he stood up, relieved to see that his dog was unharmed and had made his way back to Harry. "Hey boy! I was worried about you."

Snuffles was still standing near the portrait opening, so Harry said, "Come here, Snuffles."

As if those were the magic words, Snuffles ran towards Harry, almost knocking Harry over when the dog reached him.

"Woah, there!" Harry softly laughed as he took a half-step backwards to keep himself from falling over. "Now, where did you get off to, huh? I was really worried when I couldn't find you. I was about to go out and search the entire castle for you."

Harry knelt down and hugged Snuffles, happy that Snuffles was fine and that Snuffles came back to him.

After about fifteen more minutes, the Gryffindors were led from Gryffindor Tower and down to the Great Hall. The Slytherins and Ravenclaws were already there and the Hufflepuffs showed up not long after the Gryffindors did.

After a few assurances that the students would be safe in the Great Hall, Headmaster Dumbledore conjured purple sleeping bags for everyone to sleep in.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron dragged their sleeping bags together and laid down as the rest of the students in the Great Hall did the same. Once Harry had settled down in his sleeping bag, Snuffles sprawled out over Harry. The dog refused to move no matter how much Harry poked him. Resigning himself to having Snuffles on top of him for the night, Harry softly talked to Ron and Hermione until the lights were turned off and they were told to be quiet.

...

There were two very unfortunate side-effects of Sirius Black's attack on the Fat Lady. The first was that the Gryffindor Common Room was now being guarded by Sir Cadogan. That mad knight insisted on making up complicated passwords, which he seemed to change every other day, and he kept challenging the students who wanted to gain entry to the Common Room to a duel.

The second unfortunate consequence of Sirius Black's attack was that Harry was now being followed. Constantly.

Everywhere Harry turned, he seemed to find a Professor or a prefect that just _happened_ to be in the same area. It was starting to get on Harry's nerves.

The students had all been assured that the security around the castle had been doubled, so there was no way that Black could get into the castle again. But that still didn't stop a lot of people from appearing to be tense and on edge.

Also, Snuffles was now apparently glued to Harry's side.

Before Halloween, Harry could leave Snuffles to frolic outside or to nap in Gryffindor Tower whenever Harry was in his classes. Now, Snuffles sat just outside of the door of every class that Harry took as if the dog was a silent sentry. The only exceptions appeared to be Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts. At Hagrid's class, Snuffles would pace around the perimeter of the class, an obvious but not interfering presence. For Professor Lupin's class, Snuffles wouldn't sit near the door, but he would watch the door from farther down the hall.

And then not long after Halloween, Harry was once again attacked by Dementors.

The Quidditch match took place after a horrible Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. The reason why that Defense class was so bad was because Professor Lupin was out sick, so Snape was substituting. Snape was in a very foul mood and he completely scrapped the lesson plans that Professor Lupin had left for him. Instead, Snape had made the entire class skip ahead in their lessons and began lecturing them about werewolves.

Harry was relieved to get out of that particular Defense class, but he wasn't so happy when he peered outside and saw what the weather looked like. It appeared that the Gryffindor Quidditch team was going to be playing against the Hufflepuff team on a particularly stormy day.

Although Harry usually loved playing Quidditch, it was almost impossible to see anything through the driving rain or hear anything over the howling wind. For the majority of the game, Harry and Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker, mainly circled around each other as they looked for the Snitch. But neither had had any luck so far.

Shortly after Harry had flown close enough to the Gryffindor section of the stands to spot Snuffles huddled up next to Ron and Hermione, Harry spied the Snitch. He chased after it as the Snitch led him farther up into the sky, only instead of catching the Snitch, Harry got himself caught in the middle of hundreds of Dementors.

Harry had felt so cold, so intensely cold and he had heard screaming again, the same screaming he had heard on the train – someone screaming his name.

And then he fell.

Harry fell off of his broom and plunged downwards to the field below.

After Harry woke up in the Hospital Wing (with Snuffles draped across his legs but, thankfully, not growling at anyone), he was delivered even more bad news. Cedric had caught the Snitch, so the Hufflepuffs won the game and when Harry had fallen, his broom had landed in the Whomping Willow. So his once beautiful Nimbus 2000 was now a pile of twigs and splinters.

Harry felt absolutely miserable. He never wanted to be caught unaware and defenseless against Dementors again.

The one good thing that came out of that whole spectacle was that Snuffles proved to Madam Pomfrey that he could be calm and quiet. So Snuffles was allowed to be in the Hospital Wing if Harry ever got himself injured again. Of course, Madam Pomfrey also said that should Snuffles revert back to his previous behavior, then Snuffles would be immediately banned from entering the Hospital Wing, no matter the circumstances.

Thankfully, after Harry had been released from the Hospital Wing, he found that Professor Lupin had returned to teach their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. And the entire class was grateful when Professor Lupin excused them from having to complete the overload of werewolf homework that Snape had set for them to do.

As their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was drawing to a close, Harry decided that he would ask Professor Lupin if he knew how to help Harry with his Dementor problem. But, it appeared that Professor Lupin had had the same idea about talking after class.

Harry was putting his wand back in his robe pocket and placing his textbook back into his schoolbag. Ron and Hermione were on either side of him doing the same.

"Ah, Harry, could you stay behind?" Professor Lupin asked as the rest of the students were leaving the Defense classroom. "I promise that it will only take a moment."

"Sure, Professor," Harry agreed, adjusting his schoolbag on his shoulder as he walked towards the front of the classroom.

Hermione and Ron were hovering near the doorway, but Harry nodded at them, silently indicating that they should go on without him. Hopefully Snuffles wouldn't be too alarmed when Harry didn't leave the classroom with the rest of his classmates. Harry was sure that Snuffles was waiting for him at the end of the hall.

Professor Lupin was at the front of the room, leaning against his desk.

"Harry, I just wanted to check in with you to make sure that you're doing alright," Professor Lupin said.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Harry said. "But I actually have a question that I wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead," Professor Lupin encouraged with a small smile.

"Well, it's – you know how Dementors affect me and how I seem to have a really bad reaction to them, especially when comparted to how everyone else reacts to them. Well, do you… would you know any reason why that happens?" Harry asked. "I mean, why is it so much worse for me?"

"I believe that the reason why you're so affected by the presence of the Dementors is because of your past," Professor Lupin said gently after having taken a moment to consider Harry's question. "There've been horrible events that happened to you in your past and those events could be considered more… traumatizing that the experiences that your classmates have had. Dementors are creatures designed to drown humans in misery and despair – and they can sense, to a degree, who has had… bad things that have happened to them. And they will target those individuals who have already experienced a certain amount of distress, guilt, misery, and despair. It's why they are used in Azkaban and are very effective there."

"Oh," Harry said quietly.

"Yes, and I'm sorry that you have to experience that emotional pain whenever they come around. Those Dementors shouldn't have been anywhere near you or any of the other students. I can assure you that Professor Dumbledore exchanged some… particularly angry words with the Minister about it," Professor Lupin said.

Harry smiled at the thought.

"Professor," Harry began. "I was wondering if you knew of a spell or something that could defend against Dementors."

"There is a defense against them, but I'm afraid that it's very advanced," Professor Lupin said.

"Would you teach it to me?" Harry asked. "Please, Professor. I don't… I don't want to be defenseless against them anymore. Please."

"As I said, it's very advanced," Professor Lupin said as Harry looked down, discouraged. "But,"

Harry quickly looked up at Professor Lupin who was smiling at him.

"I can teach you the spell," Professor Lupin said. "It will have to be after Christmas. I'm afraid that my workload is pretty heavy at the moment, but I should have some free time after at the beginning of the next term."

"Thank you, Professor Lupin! Thank you so much!" Harry exclaimed, smiling widely.

"Also, I've been meaning to ask you about this, but I hadn't had the chance yet. I've heard that your dog was having a bit of trouble the other day. On Halloween, I think it was," Professor Lupin said, almost cautiously. "How's… Snuffles, was it? How is Snuffles doing?"

"A bit of trouble?" Harry asked. "Oh! Yeah, he's doing fine now. I don't really know what was going on with him on Halloween. I though he was getting sick because he was acting pretty subdued and not eating anything. But he seemed fine once I found him again."

"Found him again?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Yeah, he kind of disappeared on me, or well, I guess I actually kind of disappeared on him as we were walking back to the Common Room after the feast. But after that whole 'Sirius Black in the castle' fiasco was over and we could come and go from the Common Room again, Snuffles wandered in with a group of other Gryffindors," Harry said, scooting back a bit to lean against one of the student desks. "He was looking a bit worried when he came in, but once he saw me, he was fine again… He did seem to stick pretty close to me an awful lot afterwards though. In fact, I'm kind of surprised he's not poking his head in the door right now because he's been lurking outside of every classroom I've had to go to, waiting for me to get out of class. He used to be fine with just waiting in Gryffindor Tower or out around the grounds. I think he got spooked or something on Halloween, probably because we got separated. He hasn't really let me out of his sight since that night."

"So your dog was missing when… when Black was spotted in the castle?" Professor Lupin asked, sounding a little strained.

"Yeah, I was really worried about him when I couldn't get out of the Common Room to go look for him. But yeah, I was separated from him before I made it back to Gryffindor Tower and Black was on the loose in the castle," Harry responded.

"Could I… Well, it's none of my business, but could I ask about how you got… Snuffles? I heard from Professor McGonagall that you got him over the summer break," Professor Lupin asked.

Harry was a bit curious about why Professor Lupin wanted to know, but decided that maybe Professor Lupin was just interested. Harry didn't really have an issue about telling Professor Lupin how he found Snuffles.

"Umm… well, I found him and he found me – we kind of found each other that night. I had just, uhh…" Harry trailed off sheepishly before clearing his throat and continuing. "Umm, I had just ran away from the Dursleys and I was walking down an empty street and I, uh, took a small break and sat on the curb. That's when I saw a bush looking at me. Well, the bush wasn't looking at me, it was Snuffles, but Snuffles was in the bush. I went over to see what it was and, of course, it was Snuffles. Only at the time, he was just a stray dog."

Harry smiled at Professor Lupin.

"I probably shouldn't've but I went up to the dog. He was a dirty, starving mess and he was growling at me, but it wasn't an aggressive growl. It was like he was trying to warn me to stay away from him. But, um, I didn't back away, which was crazy, I know. I just stayed where I was and offered him my hand. I had no reason for why I did it, I just did. Snuffles eventually worked up the courage to come closer to me, and, well, the rest is history, I guess," Harry said, still smiling. "He had no reason to trust me and I had no reason to trust him, but I called for him to come with me and he did. And he's been a… well, he's been a really good friend. A little overprotective sometimes, but he's… he's my dog and my friend. I'm really lucky to have him."

"I… I see," Professor Lupin said with a suspiciously blank face. "Harry… Thank you for answering my questions, but I fear that if I keep you any longer, your dog might come charging in the classroom looking for you. I'm sure he's wondering where you are."

"You're right! I'd better get going," Harry said, pushing off of the desk he was leaning against and starting to walk towards the door. "See you later, Professor."

Professor Lupin didn't respond. He just watched with a troubled look in his eyes as Harry left the classroom.

...

Snuffles had been out of his mind with worry for Harry. He was tempted to search the castle for Harry, but the last time Snuffles ran around the castle looking for Harry, it didn't end very well.

So, Snuffles stayed in the Gryffindor Common Room, perched just off to the left of the entrance to the room, alert and still. Waiting for Harry to return. Because he would. Harry would return safe and sound. Snuffles couldn't think of any other outcome, because if he did, he'd likely lose whatever sanity he had left.

Harry had been gone for a few hours, but Snuffles remained where he was. Ignoring all of the other Gryffindors who came and went, who gave him concerned glances when they passed by him.

But finally, finally! Harry came through the portrait hole and Snuffles couldn't stop his involuntary tail wag of happiness at seeing Harry again.

Harry stalked past Snuffles and stomped up the stairs, so Snuffles, after a moment of watching Harry go, got to his feet and quickly trotted after him. Harry had a thunderous look on his face when Snuffles caught up to him and he looked ready to snap at anyone or anything. Snuffles was about to follow Harry into the dorm room, but Harry slammed the door in Snuffles' face. Snuffles barely had any time to jerk back in order to avoid getting hit in the face by the door.

Snuffles stared at the closed door in disbelief for a second or two. And, once he got over Harry slamming the door in his face, Snuffles started barking like mad. He barked and barked and barked until the door was wrenched opened. Harry had his hand on the door and was staring down at Snuffles in confusion. Snuffles abruptly stopped barking and shoved his way passed Harry and into the room.

Harry watched as Snuffles trotted over to Harry's bed and jumped up on it. Snuffles sat down on the bed and then looked at Harry.

Harry blinked a few times before shutting the door again and walking over to the bed.

Sighing, Harry sat down on the bed next to Snuffles.

"I slammed the door in your face, didn't I?" Harry asked in a rough voice.

Snuffles 'woofed' in affirmation.

Harry took off his glasses and ran a hand over his face, saying a muffled, "I'm sorry, Snuffles."

Snuffles whined and wormed his way onto Harry's lap, draping himself over Harry's legs.

"I didn't… I didn't even see you there. I was just – I'm just so angry," Harry said, his voice still rough. It sounded like he'd been screaming or crying. "I'm angry and hurt and so, so, so confused."

Snuffles sat up and looked at Harry, who had his glasses on once again.

"I-I… I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I know what I want to do, or at least I think I know what I want to do, but…" Harry trailed off as he brought his hands up to grab at his hair. "I really don't know what to do."

Snuffles whined again and pushed his nose in between Harry's right hand and his hair. Harry release his grip on his hair and brushed his hand over Snuffles' head.

"I don't know what to do," Harry weakly. "I just…"

Harry let out a shuddering sigh and fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Snuffles followed Harry down, resting his head on Harry's chest.

"I thought I was having a good day, Snuffles, a really good day," Harry said, not at confident as he usually sounded. Harry started gently petting Snuffles.

"I… I snuck out. I went into Hogsmeade. There's a passageway and… I ran into Hermione and Ron at Honeydukes and then we went to the Three Broomsticks," Harry said softly. "I was having a really good time, Snuffles. I felt… I felt so accomplished, sneaking into Hogsmeade to be with my friends. It was fun. I was having a laugh… Well, I'm not laughing now."

Snuffles whined quietly and turned to lick at the hand that was petting him. Harry slowly moved his head up to look at Snuffles and scratched Snuffles behind his ears before laying his head back down on the mattress and resuming his petting of Snuffles.

"It… It happened at the Three Broomsticks. I was at a table with Ron and Hermione when Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and the Minister of Magic walked in the room. And Hermione actually shoved me under the table," Harry said with a wet laugh. "Then they – they sat at a table near us and started talking. They were talking about Black. Sirius Black."

Snuffles whined and nuzzled into Harry's chest. Harry just continued to pet Snuffles.

"He's… I found out that… he's my godfather. Black's my godfather. He was their friend!" Harry suddenly shouted. "He was their friend! And he betrayed them. He betrayed my parents! He's the reason they're dead."

Snuffles was breathing hard and shuddering, but Harry didn't seem to notice.

"He betrayed my parents," Harry said in weak voice. "I just… I don't understand. He was… They made him my godfather. Why would he… Why did he do it?"

Harry was quiet for a while, still petting Snuffles. Snuffles was laying limp on Harry, feeling generally terrible. Feeling so guilty. Feeling horrified at the situation.

 _'Harry's right. It is my fault. James and Lily… They're dead because of me.'_

"I'm so angry, so, so angry right now. I hate him. I hate him for what he did and I want… I want him dead. I want to kill him… but I… I'm so confused about it. I don't – I'm… I just don't know what to do anymore," Harry said softly. "I don't know what to do."

Snuffles whined again

"Ron and Hermione are probably pretty worried about me right now," Harry laughed without humor. "I disappeared on them after I heard about… well, about Black. I came straight here, though, after that. I just… I shouldn't've run out on them. I should've went back and found them again. But I didn't. I came here. And I don't know why I did that either."

Harry sighed deeply.

"I'm a mess right now, Snuffles. But thank you for being here and for listening to me," Harry said quietly.

Both Harry and Snuffles stayed quiet for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Well, enough of this sad stuff. I can't be like this when I go to find Ron and Hermione or they'll be even more concerned than they probably are right now," Harry suddenly said, shaking Snuffles out of his guilty thoughts. "I can tell you about something good that happened to me before I heard all of that stuff at the Three Broomsticks."

Harry sat up, dislodging Snuffles from his resting place on Harry's chest. Snuffles shook out his fur as Harry brought a hand up to his face to wipe away a few stray tears and adjust his glasses. Snuffles sat down in front of Harry.

"Umm, well, after I left you in the Common Room – and I'm sorry about disappearing on you like that, Snuffles. It's just that you were getting a little overwhelming and I needed a bit of space," Harry said. Snuffles had the decency to look sheepish.

Snuffles knew he was being overprotective, constantly trailing after Harry, but Snuffles needed to make sure that Harry stayed safe. The recent Dementor attack against Harry didn't exactly instill confidence in Snuffles that Harry would be safe in or around the castle. But maybe Snuffles had gone a little overboard in his attempts to stay with Harry to keep him safe from harm.

"Anyway, I snuck out of the Common Room and through the castle under my invisibility cloak. And I thought that I was pretty much undetectable, but the Weasley twins knew where I was. They knew exactly where I was. Fred and George just came up to me, grabbed me under my arms, and carried me off to a stairwell. They, well, what they had was amazing, Snuffles!" Harry said, looking happier then than he had since Snuffles had seen him walk into the Common Room. "They had a map, an amazing map, and it shows you where everyone in Hogwarts is at. Like, they showed me Dumbledore pacing in his office and how there were a few students coming closer to where I was with them. And they gave it to me! They just gave it to me and said I probably needed it more than they did! It's actually… hold on, I can show it to you! I still have it in my back pocket," Harry said excitedly.

Snuffles' heart rate skyrocketed at the mention of a map that showed where people in Hogwarts were and, when Harry pulled out a blank bit of parchment, a very familiar blank bit of parchment, Snuffles could've sworn that his heart stopped then and there.

"It's called the Marauder's Map! All you have to do is tap your wand to the parchment," Harry said, grabbing his wand and touching it to the map. "And say, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'."

It was a miracle, an absolute miracle, that Harry hadn't spotted him on the Map when the twins showed it to him earlier. And it was a miracle that the Weasley twins hadn't seen Snuffles as Sirius Black on the Map either. Snuffles didn't know how they hadn't managed to see him on the Map, but later, when he wasn't focused on preventing Harry from finding out that he was Sirius Black, Snuffles would most definitely be sending up a prayer of thanks to whoever was out there to hear it. Because this kind of luck was unreal, completely unreal.

Snuffles knew that if Harry saw 'Sirius Black' sitting next to him, especially after what Harry had just told Snuffles about Sirius Black, then Snuffles would be back in Azkaban, or more than likely dead, quicker than he could blink.

With mere seconds to react, Snuffles barked, leapt forward onto Harry's lap, and started licking Harry's face. Harry let go of the Map to push Snuffles away with an exclamation of amused disgust. Snuffles made sure to 'accidentally' push the Map off of the bed with his paw.

"Merlin, Snuffles! What's gotten into you?" Harry asked with a small laugh.

Harry leaned over the bed and reached down to pick up the Map, but Snuffles was back in Harry's face, nuzzling under Harry's chin. Harry clicked his tongue and moved to scratch Snuffles behind his ears instead of grabbing the Map.

Every time Harry would reach over to grab the Map, Snuffles would distract him by either begging for more pets, nuzzling or licking Harry, or even barking.

Eventually, Harry gave up trying to show Snuffles the Marauder's Map.

"You probably wouldn't really understand this Map anyway, Snuffles," Harry said as he finally grabbed the Map from where it fell on the floor. "Just take my word for it, it's pretty cool."

Harry touched his wand to the surface of the Marauder's Map and said, "Mischief managed."

Harry tucked the Map into the drawer on his nightstand and then returned to the bed, sitting and petting Snuffles for a few moments.

"Thanks again for listening to me, Snuffles. You're a great friend," Harry said. "I think I'm going to wander down to the Common Room to wait for Ron and Hermione to come back. Do you want to come down with me?"

Snuffles shook his head and laid down on the bed, yawning widely.

Harry got up and said, "Alright, well, suit yourself. I'll come back up to get you for dinner."

Harry gave Snuffles a final scratch behind the ears and then left the room, leaving the door open in case Snuffles wanted to join him.

Snuffles stayed on the bed and began counting down from two hundred, to give Harry some time to return in case he forgot something.

Once Snuffles reached zero, he sprung up off of the bed and raced over to the door. Snuffles nosed the door shut and then ran back over to Harry's bed. After making sure that he was completely alone, Snuffles transformed into Sirius and grabbed the Marauder's Map out of Harry's nightstand drawer.

Using a bit of wandless magic, Sirius touched the Map with his finger and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Smiling and a little teary-eyed at seeing the familiar words and lines of the Marauder's Map form on the parchment in his hands, Sirius took a deep breath and, with his finger still on the Map, he said, "Padfoot solemnly requests a change in identity."

Familiar writing plastered itself across the bottom of the Map.

 ** _Messrs. Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail would like to congratulate Mr. Padfoot on what was likely a prank so spectacular that he needed to change his name._**

 ** _Mr. Prongs would like to know what Mr. Padfoot wants to change his name to._**

Sirius smiled sadly and, still touching the parchment, said, "Mr. Padfoot would like to change his name from Sirius Black to Snuffles."

 ** _Mr. Padfoot would like to know what prank the future Mr. Padfoot pulled in order for him to need to change his name._**

Unable to voice the real reason, Sirius sadly said, "I… I haven't pulled it yet, but changing my name is a necessary preparation for it."

 ** _Mr. Wormtail wishes Mr. Padfoot luck on his prank and hopes it is a success._**

 ** _Mr. Moony would like to inform Mr. Padfoot that his name will now be shown as 'Snuffles' on the Map and hopes that Mr. Padfoot will be careful in whatever it is that he's planning to do._**

 ** _Mr. Prongs has every confidence that the future Mr. Padfoot will succeed in whatever it is that he's planning._**

"Thanks Moony. Thanks Prongs," Sirius whispered sadly.

 ** _Mr. Moony agrees with Mr. Prongs, but also adds that Mr. Padfoot should be careful not to succeed in blowing himself up again._**

 ** _Mr. Padfoot would like to remind Mr. Moony that that only happened one time and it was entirely Mr. Prong's fault_**

 ** _Mr. Prongs would like to tell Mr. Padfoot that he shouldn't lie to his future self because it was entirely Mr. Padfoot's own fault and that his eyebrows and hair grew back eventually._**

Smiling at the comments, Sirius took a moment to just take in the Map, brushing his fingers over the familiar writing.

Sirius remembered when they first thought of making the Marauder's Map. He remembered all of the research that they did. He remembered the long nights and longer discussions about how to create the Map and about what features they should add to it. He remembered the tireless days and nights of work and frustration it took to get the Map to work exactly the way they had wanted it to. He remembered talking about how they should build in an additional passcode, one that would allow any one of the Marauders to change their name on the Map, just in case there was a chance that the Map could be taken or fall into the wrong hands. After all, this Map was for helping the Marauders pull pranks; it shouldn't be used to tie the prankster to the prank. Thus, they included a passcode that allowed the creators of the Map to change their name if they needed to.

Taking once last look at the Map and at the words written on it, Sirius touched the parchment with his finger and said, "Mischief managed."

The words, the lines, the ink – all of it disappeared and the parchment was blank once again.

Sirius put the Marauder's Map back in Harry's nightstand drawer and transformed back into Snuffles.

Snuffles leapt up onto the bed and laid down, thinking about how, when they were making the Map, James, Remus, Peter, and he had all promised to sit down one day with their kids, with their future children, and tell them everything there was about being a Marauder. One day one of them would eventually pass down the Map to one of their children.

James never got that chance. He never had the chance to sit down with Harry and tell him all about the mischief that the Marauders got up to during their Hogwarts days.

James never had the chance.

But maybe, just maybe, one day, Sirius could do it for him.

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Okay, time for some explanations:

You might be wondering why, at first, Snuffles/Sirius didn't just check the rooms that lined the corridor where he knew that Harry had gone missing. The short answer is: He panicked. That's all. It was just a bad decision on his part. He assumed Peter grabbed Harry and ran with him. And that caved in passageway that Snuffles came across was the one that the Weasley twins once mentioned in one of the books – If I'm remembering correctly, the twins said something about that passage being on the Marauder's Map, but when they went to use it, they found that it had been caved in. Which is why, when Snuffles tries to go through it, he kicks up some dust.

And… I tried to keep Malfoy and Harry mostly in character as they were conversing, but there may have been a few moments of OOC – but I did try to keep it to a minimum.

When Harry tries to leave the Common Room to look for Snuffles, the reason why he can't get out is because I think that if the portrait guarding the Common Room entrance is attacked, then the portrait won't open to keep the students inside safe – So when Sirius slashed at it, a type of lockdown was initiated. And as for why Harry or anyone else in the Common Room didn't hear Sirius' conversation/screaming, well, let say there's some sort of soundproofing.

As for the Marauder's Map – I'd like to think that the Marauders worked features and failsafes into the Map. Features and failsafes that were never known because the Marauder's didn't tell anyone about them. Maybe one day they planned on telling their future children or something, but well, James died, Sirius was in prison, Peter is on the run, and Remus is just barely getting by. So many of the 'secrets' about the Marauder's Map were lost in time. Who know what other features those wily pranksters put into their creation?

I'm sure you're also wondering why Sirius didn't use the Map to find out where Peter was – well, Sirius wasn't sure if Peter had also used the same name-changing feature that he just did and Sirius wasn't sure how much time he had until Harry or one of the other boys returned. Sirius didn't want to be caught as Sirius Black in Harry's room with the Marauder's Map in his hands.

Also, I've already had a few messages/comments/reviews asking about the Marauder's Map and someone (the twins or Harry) seeing Sirius and/or Peter on the Map. Don't worry – I will address the issue of Peter still showing up on the Map AND why the twins never noticed or commented on Peter or Sirius showing up on the Map when they were in possession of it. I have a plan (and an explanation) and I promise that it will all be revealed in a later chapter, but I can't tell you everything all at once, now can I? A girl has to retain some mystery after all.

And last, but not least, I've lost my cushion of extra chapters to upload (actually I officially lost it after I posted chapter four) and I was fine with cranking out chapter five last week, but this week was a bit of a struggle – I live at home with three younger siblings and they had two snow days in a row this week, and we babysit three other little ones when the kids have no school. So my house was crazier (and louder) than usual this week – and I pretty much lost two days of productive writing (because of the noise levels – oh my god, I swear my ears are still ringing). But I did it! I managed to finish this chapter and post it on time – I was only able to proofread it once before I posted it, so if there are any unusual mistakes (grammar or otherwise) that you see, that'd be why. If you do spot any mistakes, let me know so I can correct them.


	7. Risky Plans (AKA Operation PASBOHF)

**Chapter Seven:** ** _Risky Plans (AKA Operation PASBOHF)_**

It was needlessly risky.

He had a plan, yes.

But it was risky.

He was very likely to get himself caught, but… if that happened, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

This all started when Snuffles saw how broken-hearted Harry was over his broom being destroyed and how sad-yet-enraged Harry was over the news that he, or well, that Sirius Black was Harry's godfather and had betrayed Harry's parents.

Around his friends and peers, Harry mostly acted like he was doing fine. And after the initial talk about him, err, about Black with Ron and Hermione, Harry hadn't really spoked to his friends about the subject. All Harry would say was that he was giving the situation some thought.

So, from what Snuffles saw, Harry's friends mainly left the issue alone… probably because whenever Ron and Hermione started talking, their conversation usually seemed to devolve into a heated argument about their pets.

Snuffles was firmly on Hermione's side of that particular argument. It'd save him a lot of trouble if her lovely cat, Crookshanks, would just kill the rat. But, then again, if Crookshanks killed the rat, then it'd be a very long and complicated process to get himself freed – mostly because he was pretty sure that the Minister had something like a kill or 'kiss' on sight order out on Sirius Black.

But, whenever Harry was only around Snuffles, Harry was generally a brooding storm of misery and rage.

Although Snuffles couldn't really do anything about Harry's issues with Sirius Black (since he has yet to catch that bastard rat), Snuffles could probably help out with Harry's other issue.

Harry was devastated, absolutely devastated, over the state of his once pristine broomstick.

Snuffles had been aware that Harry had a good broomstick – he was on the Quidditch team after all. But Snuffles hadn't been aware of the circumstances that led to Harry becoming a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and getting a broom.

Harry got on the team in his first year! Harry had been the youngest Seeker in a century!

And Minnie herself – the strict Professor McGonagall – had actually recommended Harry for the team after he pulled off a stunt that was worthy of the Marauders. Harry had been defending a fellow Gryffindor (well, the property of a Gryffindor, but same difference) and he had stuck it to a snobby Slytherin at the same time.

Harry had told Snuffles all about how he'd gotten onto the Quidditch team and Snuffles was so, so proud of him. Maybe a little concerned about how Harry could've gotten hurt during that stunt, but, generally, Snuffles was so proud.

Snuffles was surprised, but not shocked, when Harry had told him that his Nimbus 2000 had been a gift from Professor McGonagall. It wasn't that shocking because Snuffles knew that, while Minerva was often a strict taskmaster, she would occasionally bend the rules a bit for one of her Gryffindors.

But Snuffles figured the main reason for Harry receiving a broom – the best broomstick on the market at the time – was because Minerva was a major Quidditch fan. And she couldn't have Gryffindor losing to the Slytherins, could she? So if she saw Harry performing a feat worthy of an amazing Seeker, well, it made sense that Minerva would recruit Harry for the Gryffindor Quidditch team rather than punish him for not staying on the ground.

And apparently Harry wasn't the only one who was disheartened over the broom disaster. Harry had told Snuffles that Oliver Wood was particularly putout over the whole incident. Harry figured that his captain's mood was the result of the combination of the Gryffindor Quidditch team losing to the Hufflepuffs and having his Seeker's top-of-the-line broomstick destroyed which will cause his Seeker (Harry) to be out of commission for the foreseeable future; or at least until Harry can get his hands on another broomstick.

Harry sadly confided in Snuffles that he'd probably just have to borrow one of the school's broomsticks for Quidditch practices and games.

There was no way that Snuffles was going to let Harry ride around on a school broom for Quidditch. First of all, Snuffles knew that those brooms were seriously outdated and in very poor shape (and he knew this because he and Harry had done a little reconnaissance and checked out all of the school's broomsticks in the broom storage shed near the Quidditch pitch). Secondly, since the brooms were on their last legs, it was very likely that in a rough game of Quidditch (especially if they were going up against the Slytherin team), a school broom would break or malfunction – which would likely result in Harry getting hurt. Lastly, the so-outdated-it-was-almost-ridiculous school brooms would be _oh so very slow_ and a Seeker needed a fast broom to go after the Golden Snitch.

Thus, the plan.

Snuffles decided to call it Operation: Put A Smile Back On Harry's Face.

Or Operation PASBOHF for short.

And Snuffles was sure that he could pull this plan off because all he needed was an owl, some parchment, some ink, and a quill… And some funding, but Snuffles wouldn't actually need to see or handle the money himself.

Although Snuffles was generally uncomfortable around goblins and their attitudes towards wizards, he was exceptionally happy with the goblin's policies on how they managed a wizard's bank accounts.

Goblins didn't really concern themselves with the affairs of any wizarding government. And thanks to a treaty between the Goblin Nation and the Ministry of Magic, goblins were the sole managers and operators of any and all Gringotts branches within the United Kingdom. The Ministry of Magic (and wizards in general) had to keep their noses out of goblin business when it concerned the management of finances in any Gringotts premises.

Goblins had their own set of laws and rules that they abided by.

If a witch or wizard were to perform a crime against the Goblin Nation, such as fraud, murdering a goblin, or stealing from Gringotts, then that witch or wizard would be persecuted to the fullest extent of the goblin law for his or her crime and then banned from entering any goblin-managed facility. Sometimes there would be extenuating circumstances and the goblins would be lenient, but usually the goblins were out for blood, so to speak.

As long as a witch or wizard had Galleons, Sickles, Knuts, or other valuables that had monetary worth and had at least one vault within Gringotts, the goblins would serve that witch or wizard as a customer, albeit with their customary grudging attitude. And because of that, goblins didn't care if a witch or wizard was a law-following citizen, a high and mighty lord, or an escaped convict.

That meant that Snuffles still had access to at least one vault in Gringotts: his trust vault. Snuffles wasn't entirely sure if he had access to the other Black Family vaults. If he had been officially disowned (like his mother threatened to do when he ran away from home to live with the Potters), then he wouldn't have any access to the other vaults. But he was pretty sure he hadn't been disowned if only because the newspapers would've taken great pleasure in referring to him as the 'disgraced and disowned Sirius Black' just to spice it up from calling him the 'Azkaban escapee Sirius Black'. In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, as the only living heir to the main branch of the Black Family, he was probably the next Lord Black. Or he would be referred to as such if he was ever exonerated or if he ever got a fair trial and was proved innocent.

No. Not if, _when._

' _When I get a fair trial and can prove my innocence. I've got to think positive.'_

The fact of the matter was that Snuffles still had access to some funds – and a considerable amount of funds at that.

He'd have to clear up any issues and check up on the Black Family vaults later, hopefully when he wasn't a fugitive from the Ministry.

For now, the first step in Operation: PASBOHF was for Snuffles to draft a letter to his account manager at Gringotts.

So that meant that Snuffles needed to borrow a quill, some ink, and a bit of parchment from somewhere. There was always someone who would accidentally leave a quill or some parchment around the Common Room, but getting his hands on some ink would be a bit more difficult. Snuffles would probably have to wait until Harry and the other third year boys were asleep and risk getting an inkwell from one of their school bags. Or he could wait until Harry and his friends were in class and rummage around Gryffindor Tower for the supplies he needed.

But if he waited until Harry was in one of his classes, then that would mean that Snuffles couldn't follow Harry around the castle because Snuffles would have to stay in the Tower until Harry came back for him. And Snuffles didn't feel comfortable doing that since he wasn't sure where the rat was.

Snuffles had figured out a while ago that Azkaban had had more of an effect on him that he had previously thought. He knew he was physically weaker than he had once been. Snuffles had been starved in Azkaban, given just enough food to keep him alive, but not enough to allow him to build up or keep any strength. And then when he finally began eating right, after Harry had found him and started helping him recover, Snuffles realized that he had a long road to recovery ahead of him. He got exhausted too easily, his emotions were all over the place, he would occasionally loose time or forget where he was, and every so often he would think that Harry was James. Snuffles was pretty sure that he was hovering closer to insanity than sanity at the moment; and that was just the beginning of his problems.

But the worst thing, the absolutely worst thing, that Azkaban did to him was break his nose.

Well, he didn't actually break his nose in Azkaban, but technically his nose was broken because right now _his damned nose wasn't working properly_.

As an animagus, Snuffles had the same range of smell that a canine did. He could scent and track as good as, if not better than, the finest hunting dogs. Or at least he used to be able to. Before Azkaban.

But right now, Snuffles could barely smell anything, let alone track something as small as that rat.

And the real kicker was that Snuffles hadn't even notice that he was lacking in the nose department until after Halloween – when, after he had seen Harry and calmed down, he tried to find the rat's scent to track him down. Snuffles had been unpleasantly surprised when he had had to practically stick his nose onto Ron's robes to catch a whiff of the rat's scent only to quickly lose it once he moved away from the redhead.

Snuffles also realized that his eyesight wasn't what it used to be either. He could generally see well, which is why he hadn't really noticed his sight problem at first. But when Snuffles tested his sight a bit, he found that, compared to what his eyesight used to be, he was practically nearsighted.

Luckily, his ears seemed to be working just fine. Hearing Remus before the man appeared was the only thing that allowed Snuffles to avoid the Defense Professor. Snuffles originally thought that Remus had been using a spell to hide his scent or something for some reason. Now Snuffles realized that it was his own nose that was the issue.

So, since Snuffles couldn't rely on his own nose to sniff out the rat, he needed to stay near Harry to keep him safe. That meant that Snuffles' only option was to wait until Harry and the rest of the boys in his dorm were asleep to grab some parchment, ink, and a quill.

Like he'd realized before, this plan of his would be risky. But what's life without a little risk?

And if the end result put a smile on Harry's face, then the risk would be more than worth it.

He would have to wait a few more hours to enact the first part of his plan. Snuffles was currently sitting at Harry's feet in the Common Room as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together at one of the tables writing what Snuffles thought was their potions essays since Ron and Harry were being pretty vocal about how much they hated Snape.

Eventually, the boys had either finished or decided to give up for the night (Ron had already asked to see Hermione's essay – and she refused to let him – so Snuffles figured that she had already finished her own assignment). Snuffles followed Harry and Ron up the stairs and into the third year boys' dormitory. As Harry and Ron were grabbing their pajamas to change into, Snuffles jumped up on Harry's bed, ready to wait for the rest of the third year boys to return to the room and fall asleep.

A while later, Snuffles laid on the bed next to Harry, getting prepared to make his move. It had been about an hour since Snuffles had heard the last boy in Harry's dorm settle down for the night. The room had been quiet for the past fifty or so minutes, so Snuffles decided that it was safe enough for him to get started. If any of the boys were still up, all they'd see was Harry's dog wandering around the room. But to write the letter, he needed opposable thumbs – so Snuffles needed to become Sirius once again. And Sirius being spotted in Gryffindor Tower would be very, very bad. So, he'd have to do most of the work as Snuffles and spend as little time as Sirius as he could.

 _'Alright,'_ Snuffles thought as he slowly sat up. _'Operation: PASBOHF is a go!'_

Snuffles eased his way off of the bed so as to not accidently wake up Harry.

Poking his head through the bed curtains, Snuffles looked around the room. All of the other boys appeared to be in their beds and sleeping, so Snuffles carefully got off of the bed and decided to move towards the first schoolbag he saw.

Neville Longbottom's schoolbag was conveniently propped up against the end of the boy's bed, all ready to go for a full day of classes tomorrow.

Snuffles cautiously padded towards the schoolbag, pausing every time there was a slightest rustle or a sigh from any of the boys.

Nosing the bag open, Snuffles quietly rummaged around the bag, gently pulling out a quill, a spare sheet of parchment, and finally, a partially filled inkwell.

Snuffles quickly realized that he needed to move the supplies somewhere where he could safely (well, relatively speaking) transform into Sirius for the few minutes needed to compose the letter. And he also realized that he needed a way to transport his supplies to wherever it was he was going to go.

Snuffles couldn't leave Gryffindor Tower – that much was certain – because he wouldn't be able to get back into the Common Room without revealing himself to say the password or without having to wait for a Gryffindor to leave or enter through the portrait entrance. And if Harry found out that Snuffles had left the Tower, it might put Snuffles in an uncomfortable position.

So Snuffles would have to do this somewhere within Gryffindor Tower. But luckily Snuffles wouldn't be confined to just one room in the Tower because, and Snuffles did a quick check to make sure, the last boy who had enter the third year dormitory hadn't closed the door all the way. It looked like the door had shut, but, luckily for Snuffles, it hadn't latched.

The bathroom would probably be the best place for Snuffles to transform. He could have a relative amount of privacy in one of the stalls if no one else was in the bathroom. And at this time of night, Snuffles assumed that there wouldn't be anyone in there – well, there was always the possibility that someone could wake up with the urge to 'go', but that was a slim chance and Snuffles was willing to risk it.

Snuffles, after a quick glance around the room, figured that his best bet on moving his supplies would be to just carry them in his mouth. Like a real dog would. Only gentler.

If a golden retriever could safely carry a raw egg in its mouth without breaking it, then surely Snuffles could carry some parchment, a quill, and an inkwell in his mouth without causing some sort of disaster.

After a bit of awkward biting, licking, and drooling, Snuffles managed to fit the entire inkwell in his mouth and gently clamp down on the parchment and the quill with his teeth.

Snuffles slowly padded over to the door. With a bit of maneuvering, Snuffles was able to nose open the door and leave the room.

Lady Luck must've once again been favoring Snuffles because the door to the bathroom had been left ajar. Snuffles ran to the door and squeezed through the opening.

Hearing only the clicking of his claws on the tiled floor, Snuffles was happy to find that he was the only one in the room and he quickly made his way into one of the stalls, nosing the stall door shut behind him.

Snuffles carefully dropped his supplies on the floor in front of him and did a quick inspection. The parchment had a couple of teeth indents, but no holes. The feather of the quill was slightly damp with his saliva, but it was otherwise in perfect working order. And the inkwell managed to stay firmly shut, which Snuffles was very thankful about. He was grateful that it hadn't opened in his mouth. That would've been messy… and disgusting.

Since the supplies remained undamaged and no one else was in the room, Snuffles transformed into Sirius.

Sirius sat down on the toilet lid and grabbed the parchment and quill off of the floor. He smoothed out the parchment over his knee and the leaned down to uncork the inkwell. Sirius dipped the quill into the inkwell and then proceeded to carefully compose a letter to his Gringotts account manager.

His handwriting was shaky and writing on his knee wasn't exactly helping his legibility, but his letter could still be deciphered. Sirius was basically asking his account manager to access the funds from his trust vault for Sirius as well as use those funds to make a purchase.

Sirius had overheard a few members of Harry's Quidditch team discussing brooms and how a new model had been recently released that summer. He thought they might've called it a Firefly or something, but at the time, Snuffles hadn't really been paying attention.

So Sirius didn't exactly know the best make or model of broomstick on the market. It wasn't like he could go off and research it or ask anyone about the latest and greatest brooms. That was why Sirius decided ask his account manager to use the funds from his trust vault to purchase the best broom on today's market. He figured that his account manager could find out what the best broomstick was and purchase it a lot easier than Sirius could at the moment. Also, Sirius put in the specification for the broomstick to be sent to Harry Potter, wrapped in Christmas paper, and for it to arrive on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

And, knowing a bit about how goblins worked, Sirius added that his account manager should pull the funds necessary for the broom as well as the amount required for the services that the goblin would be rendering since the goblin would be acting as an intermediary for Sirius.

Finishing off the letter with his somewhat illegible signature, Sirius nicked his thumb against the sharp part of the quill, letting a bead of blood well up and then he pressed his thumb down on the parchment next to his signature, leaving a bloody thumb print behind. Since Sirius couldn't go to Gringotts in person and since he didn't have his signet ring for either the Black Heir or the Black Lord, Sirius had to leave a small amount of blood on the parchment for identification purposes. He knew that the goblins would accept that as a form of legitimate identification.

 _'Step one of Operation PASBOHF is complete! Step two will begin tomorrow!'_

With his letter finished, Sirius rolled up the parchment and put it and the quill on the floor. Sirius transformed back into Snuffles, grabbed the supplies with his mouth, and quickly made his way back to the third year boys' dorm room.

Snuffles quietly nosed the door shut behind him and gently dropped his now partially drool-covered supplies near Neville's schoolbag. Snuffles placed the inkwell and quill back into Neville's bag, but grabbed the letter he had just written with his teeth.

Padding over to Harry's bed, Snuffles hid his letter under Harry's bed, pressing it up against the wall just in case someone decided to look for something under the bed.

Snuffles slowly crept back up onto Harry's bed and laid down next to Harry. Resting his head on his front paws and closing his eyes, Snuffles drifted off to sleep.

...

It was time to put the next part of Operation PASBOHF into motion.

Harry had entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom five minutes ago. Snuffles could trust that Remus would protect Harry if something were to happen, so Snuffles felt that this was the only time that he could leave Harry relatively unsupervised when Snuffles had no real idea of where that rat was at.

Giving one last glance at the classroom that Harry had disappeared into, Snuffles padded through the corridors and towards the Owlery at a quick pace. He wasn't running because he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself, but he did need to get to the Owlery and then back to the Defense classroom before Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson ended.

Hopefully, with most of the Hogwarts students in one class or another, the Owlery would be free of any other people. And if a student happened to be in the Owlery, then Snuffles felt that he was capable of making a suitable distraction to get the student out of there.

When Snuffles finally made it up to the Owlery, he was relieved to find that he was the only one there besides the owls. Speaking of the owls, some of the birds were looking a little nervous at the sight of a canine in their presence.

Knowing that he had to be quick, not only to get back to Harry, but also to help reduce the chance that someone stumbled across him, Snuffles spat out his letter on the floor and transformed into Sirius. Right before Snuffles had left Gryffindor Tower with Harry, Snuffles had folded his letter as small as he could get it and wrapped it with another sheet of parchment that he had taken from Neville's schoolbag (and folding and wrapping his letter was extremely difficult when he had no thumbs and just paws and claws). Then Snuffles grabbed the wrapped letter between his teeth and carefully held it in his mouth, trying not to get it too slobbered on. Snuffles kept the letter hidden in his mouth and between his teeth for most of the day, waiting for Harry to go to his Defense class. His jaw was aching a bit from holding his teeth clamped in that one position for so long.

Sirius quickly picked up his letter, removed the slightly damp outer wrapping of parchment, and unfolded his letter. After giving his letter a glance to make sure that everything was fine (and that his saliva hadn't got his letter wet or caused the ink to run), Sirius went up to one of the school's nondescript brown owls.

He attached the letter to the owl's leg as he told the owl to take it to Gringotts. As Sirius took a moment to watch the owl fly off with his letter, an owl landed on his shoulder.

Sirius saw that it wasn't just any owl. It was Hedwig, Harry's beautiful snowy owl.

"Hello, pretty girl," Sirius greeted in a whisper as he gently brushed a finger over the feathers on the owl's chest.

Hedwig cooed at Sirius and nipped at a lock of his hair before she took off from his shoulder, gliding back over to a post.

Sirius glanced around to make sure there was still no one in the area and, upon seeing that there was still no one around, he transformed back into Snuffles with only Hedwig and the other owls there to watch him change from a man to a dog.

Snuffles happily trotted out of the Owlery and down the corridors to the Defense classroom. Once he was near the Defense classroom, Snuffles sat down at the end of the corridor and watched the classroom door.

As he was waiting for Harry's Defense lesson to end, Snuffles was giving himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done. So far, Operation: Put A Smile Back On Harry's Face was a success. As long as there were no issues with his letter or his bank vault, his Gringotts account manager should be able to make sure that everything would go according to plan. The final and most important test of his plan would be to see how Harry reacts to receiving his new broom on Christmas.

...

Today was the big day!

It was the day that Snuffles would find out if Operation: PASBOHF was a brilliant success or a devastating failure.

Snuffles woke up earlier than usual, way earlier than Harry normally did, because he was just so excited. He couldn't wait to see how Harry reacted to receiving his new broomstick. He had to force himself to stay still so he wouldn't wake up Harry, but Snuffles was pretty sure that he was vibrating in place.

He couldn't wait for Harry to wake up!

He couldn't wait for Harry to see and unwrap his present!

He couldn't wait to see how Harry would react to getting a new broomstick!

In general, Snuffles just couldn't wait for the day to start. He was so excited!

After about another two hours of trying to sit still next to Harry, Snuffles heard movement from the only other occupant in the room. Since Harry's friend Ron was starting to stir, Snuffles figured that it was time for Harry to start waking up as well.

Snuffles stretched and moved his face closer to Harry's face. He hovered over Harry, purposefully puffing short breaths of air into Harry's face. Harry scrunched up his nose but otherwise didn't react.

Huffing in frustration, Snuffles then licked Harry's face from his chin to his forehead. This time Harry scrunched up his nose again, took a deep breath, and cracked an eye open to blearily look at Snuffles.

In response, Snuffles wagged his tail and licked Harry again, from chin to forehead.

"Ugh…" Harry said in a sleepy whine as he opened both eyes briefly before closing his eyes again and turning away. "Snuffles!"

 _'It's Christmas Day! It's Christmas Day! Get up! Get up! Get up!'_ Snuffles thought as he softly barked in Harry's face and then licked Harry's face again.

"Snuffles!" Harry whined, pushing the dog's face away as he yawned.

Snuffles was just about try to lick Harry again when Harry's bed curtains were suddenly pulled open. Harry sat up and Snuffles almost fell off of the bed when Ron's face appeared.

"Come on, Harry!" Ron said excitedly. "It's Christmas! Time for presents! Grab whatever presents you got and I'll meet you down in the Common Room!"

Ron disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

"Christmas?" Harry said before the sleep cleared from his eyes and he beamed at Snuffles. "It's Christmas! Snuffles! Merry Christmas, Snuffles!"

 _'Yes! It's Christmas! Now come on! Come on! Come on!'_

Snuffles barked as he leapt off of the bed and ran in a circle like he was chasing his tail, waiting for Harry to get up out of bed.

Harry laughed excitedly as he threw the covers off of him and got off of the bed. He rubbed Snuffles head and went to the end of his bed where the presents he had received were waiting for him in a pile. Harry grabbed his robe and placed his presents in it. With his arms full of presents, Harry turned to Snuffles with a wide smile on his face.

"Race you down to the Common Room, Snuffles!"

Harry dashed out of the room with Snuffles hot on his heels.

As Snuffles and Harry cleared the stairs and raced into the Common Room. Ron and Hermione had already gathered in front of the fireplace with their Christmas presents.

Harry walked towards Ron and Hermione as they both said, "Happy Christmas, Harry!"

"Merry Christmas Ron! Merry Christmas Hermione!" Harry responded happily as he sat down in front of them so that the three friends now formed a triangle. Snuffles trotted up to Harry and sat down in between him and Hermione.

To keep Christmas, or at least Christmas morning, peaceful and happy, Ron and Hermione had both agreed to keep their pets in their dormitory. So Crookshanks was still in Hermione's room and that rat bastard was most likely on Ron's bed. But Snuffles was trying not to actively think of that rat right now. He wanted to enjoy his Christmas morning with Harry.

All at once, the three friends started opening their presents, but Snuffles wasn't too concerned with what other presents Harry or his friends were opening. Snuffles was too busy keeping his eyes on one of Harry's presents in particular. A long rectangle shaped present.

Finally!

Finally Harry reached for the long rectangle shaped present and began tearing off the wrapping paper.

 _'Oh boy! Harry! You are so going to love this! I just know it!'_ Snuffles thought as his tail began to wag in excited anticipation.

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed reverently as he opened the box. "Oh Merlin!"

"What, Harry?" Hermione asked at the same time that Ron asked, "Whatcha got there?"

"It's a – It's a broomstick!" Harry exclaimed excitedly as he carefully pulled the broom out of the box.

"Woah! Harry!" Ron said as he got a good look at the broomstick.

"It's a Firebolt!" Harry said sounding thrilled, with a big smile stretching across his face and wide eyes as he stared at the broom in his hands in awe. Snuffles whole body started to wiggle and his tail thumped up and down as he could barely contain his excitement.

 _'He likes it! He really likes it!'_ Snuffles thought proudly. _'And just look at the smile on his face! It looks like Operation: Put A Smile Back On Harry's Face is a complete and total success!'_

"Merlin! A Firebolt?!" Ron questioned as he scrambled over to Harry's side. "It is!"

"Who's it from, Harry?" Hermione asked, smiling softly at the boys' antics.

"Oh, umm… it's from…" Harry trailed off as he looked around for a tag or a card.

 _'There's not going to be an indication of who it's from, kiddo. I couldn't exactly have my name signed to it and a paw print would just raise some uncomfortable questions. Just enjoy it! It's a brand new broom – the best on the market!'_

"I don't know who it's from," Harry said, sounding unconcerned. "I don't think I can find out who it's from right now anyway because there isn't a card or anything attached to it."

"Are you sure you should be accepting that, Harry?" Hermione asked as the smile slowly dropped off of her face. "If you don't know who it's from…"

"Of course he's going to accept it!" Ron squawked indignantly. "The Firebolt's the best broom out there right now! It'd be a crime _not_ to accept it and use it!"

"Yeah, I'm definitely accepting it, Hermione," Harry said, a little baffled about why Hermione was even asking such a question. "I mean, when I got my invisibility cloak for Christmas in first year, I didn't know who it was from. But I still accepted it and used it then."

"But, Harry, what if that broom is sabotaged or something. I mean, everyone knows that your old one was destroyed so you'd be needing a new one," Hermione said. "If someone wanted to do you harm, giving you a cursed or faulty broomstick would be a very easy way for them to do so. I don't think you should just accept it like that. Harry, I think you should take it to Professor McGonagall to have it tested."

 _'What?!'_ Snuffles thought, unpleasantly surprised by what Hermione was suggesting. _'That's a whole new level of paranoia, even for me. I mean, I guess it's good to be in the habit of practicing_ constant vigilance _as Moody would say, but still…it'd be absolutely awful to have to give up that great broomstick so soon after receiving it. Let Harry bask in his moment of Christmas joy!'_

"What?!" Harry exclaimed, shocked. "No! I mean – it's a _Firebolt_!"

"Harry! What if it's from Sirius Black?" Hermione asked emphatically.

"Ha!" Ron scoffed. "Like Sirius Black would be sending Harry a broomstick."

 _'Actually, that's exactly what happened. I did send him a broomstick!'_ Snuffles was quite amused by Ron's statement.

"I've got to agree with Ron on this one, Hermione," Harry said. "It's an amazing gift from someone who was being nice. Very nice."

 _'Why, thank you, Harry! I'm glad you like it.'_

"Harry –" Hermione started to say, but Harry interrupted her.

"And don't go saying anything about this to McGonagall, alright?" Harry asked. "It's just a broomstick. It's an amazing and top-of-the-line broomstick that I got for Christmas. Can't you just be happy for me?"

"Well, I am happy for you, but you should be more careful. With Black still out there, I'm worried –"

"Please, Hermione," Harry said, clenching the broomstick a bit tighter. "Just drop it."

"Fine," Hermione said quietly. "I'll drop it… for now."

...

Snuffles had debated back and forth about whether or not to go to the Christmas feast with Harry.

On one hand, there'd be amazing food and Snuffles would be there to guard Harry, just in case anything unfortunate were to happen.

On the other hand, Remus would be there and they would all be sitting together at the same table. There was more of an opportunity for Remus to recognize and expose him.

Harry or Remus.

Decisions, decisions…

In the end, Snuffles decided to risk it. It was his first Christmas out of Azkaban in twelve years and he was determined to spend the whole day with Harry. Consequences be damned.

With Snuffles trotting merrily by his side, Harry chattered with Ron and Hermione as they walked down the corridors to the Great Hall. Once the four of them reached the doors to the Great Hall, Snuffles darted forwards and ran straight for the main table where the plates were set up. In seconds, Snuffles had made it to the table and dove underneath it.

From his position under the table, Snuffles watched as Harry and his friends walked up to the table at a more reasonable pace. As Harry settled down in a seat, Snuffles brushed up against Harry's legs. Harry responded by petting Snuffles for a few moments.

Snuffles could hear Harry quietly talking to Ron about his new broomstick. Harry was still extremely excited about getting the broom and Snuffles was so proud of his decision to buy the broom for Harry.

Eventually everyone that decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas (Snuffles thought it was about twelve or thirteen people in total) arrived in the Great Hall and the feast commenced. The only real excitement that occurred (besides the random pop of the Christmas crackers) was when Harry's Divination Professor went to sit down only to exclaim that, if she were to sit at the table, then the first to rise would die. It was very dramatic.

But things settled down and Trelawney's comment was soon forgotten in the excitement of the wonderful Christmas feast.

Snuffles was aware of the clinking of silverware against the plates and the various conversations taking place around the table, but he was mainly focused on the delicious slices of meats that Harry would pass down for him to eat. Because of all the noise and the distraction of the tasty food in front of him, Snuffles didn't hear the specific sound of a fork clattering as it dropped on the floor.

Snuffles didn't realize he was being watched until he felt his hackles start to rise.

Snuffles quickly turned around only to briefly catch the person's gaze as that person sat back up properly at the table, the fork that he had dropped firmly clenched in his hand.

Snuffles froze in dawning horror. The roasted ham that he had been eating was no longer appealing.

Apparently Remus had dropped his fork and bent under the table to retrieve it. That wouldn't've been a problem, if Snuffles hadn't have been under the table and within Remus' line of sight. But, unfortunately, Snuffles had been right there and Remus had had a perfect view of him.

Snuffles thought he should run, run as fast and as far away as he could before… before Remus exposed him. Before he was thrown back in Azkaban. Before he was killed or his soul was sucked out. Before he was taken away from Harry.

 _'Remus had been watching him.'_

But Snuffles couldn't move. He was horrified at what had just happened.

 _'Remus had seen him.'_

He had just exposed himself.

At the Christmas feast.

Where a bunch of professors, including Dumbledore, were eating.

 _'Remus knows.'_

Snuffles knew that if he ran, he'd be stunned and tied up before he could get halfway to the doors of the Great Hall. He had mere seconds to react before Remus would tell everyone about the Azkaban escapee sitting under the table. And Snuffles had very limited options about what he could do.

 _'How the hell am I going to get myself out of this one?'_

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Somehow Snuffles/Sirius managed to takeover this entire chapter. I don't know how that happened since I usually like to mix it up, but c'est la vie.

So, I've noticed that whatever I read has a tendency to bleed through into my writing – like if I read an angst-filled story, then the tone of the chapter (or a section of the chapter) I write will be sad/angry or if I read a nice, fluffy story, then my chapter tone/sections will tend to be more heartwarming. This week, I read The Martian by Andy Weir and I cannot begin to express my love for that book and for Mark Watney. And I've noticed that this chapter was really, really effected by my book-of-the-week. One of my little outline blurbs that I needed to expand upon this week was "Sirius/Snuffles writes letter to bank for broom". It was supposed to be something briefly mentioned in a paragraph a little before or after Harry opened his broomstick-present on Christmas (and Christmas day was supposed to be one small section of a chapter), but after reading The Martian, that blurb pretty much exploded into a chapter all by itself and Operation: Put A Smile Back On Harry's Face was born. I think I can place the blame entirely on the character of Mark Watney.

Also, on a slightly sadder note – I might have to temporarily slow my updates.

So, you may have noticed that this chapter is a little shorter than my average chapter length (not including Chapter 1) and here's why:

This past week I started converting my entire DVD collection to digital and to do that, I need to use my laptop. That process tends to make my laptop run really, really, really slow and/or overheat if I try to do something other than run the conversion. Now, here's the thing – from now on, I plan on doing the DVD conversions all day. So while I'm doing that, I'll have no access to my laptop other than a little bit of time in the evening/night and maybe 5-10 minutes in between conversions to let my laptop rest a little.

Why am I not just doing one or two DVD conversions a day to free up some time on my laptop? Well, I'm preparing to move out to California within the next month or so and I want to be able to watch the movies that I have whenever I feel the need to. But DVDs take up precious space in my little car that I'll be driving across the country, so I decided to convert them to digital so that my entire collection will fit onto one small external hard drive (which takes up like no room at all). That's why I'm converting all day, every day – to get this part of my moving process done and out of the way ASAP.

But, as for slowing down my updates, here's my plan:

Option 1 - I'll continue to upload every Saturday, but I'll only upload a chapter that's around 4,000-7,000 words.

Option 2 - I'll continue to upload chapters of 10,000-14,000+ words, but it'll be every other Saturday.

I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do yet. But it will be temporary – I'll just have to do this until my entire DVD collection is converted to digital. So maybe a week or two until I'm back on track.

And I always appreciate any comments/reviews you leave!


	8. Action and Reaction

**Chapter Eight:** ** _Action and Reaction_**

...

 **Th-thump.**

Snuffles saw Remus tense his legs as he began to scoot his chair back.

 **Th-thump.**

Snuffles heard the scrapping of chair legs on the floor.

 **Th-thump.**

Snuffles knew that there was nothing for him to do. His situation was hopeless. There was no escape.

 **Th-thump.**

He was going to be sent back to Azkaban or killed by the Dementors on the spot.

 **Th-thump.**

Remus was standing.

 **Th-thump.**

Remus cleared his throat.

 **Th-thump.**

The sound of Snuffles' heartbeat was so loud in his ears that he could barely hear the condemning words that Remus was saying.

 **Th-thump.**

"I believe it's time for me to retire to my chambers for the night…"

 **Th… Th-thump.**

"…Merry Christmas, everyone."

 **Th-thump.**

Snuffles saw Remus pushed in his chair to the sounds of those around the table wishing him a good night and a Merry Christmas as well.

 **Th-thump.**

Remus walked away from the table and towards the doors of the Great Hall.

As Snuffles' heartrate began to slow down, he carefully unclenched the muscles that he had unintentionally bunched up, tensed and tightened in preparation for… for Remus' reveal of who Snuffles really was.

But Remus hadn't.

Remus hadn't revealed Snuffles as Sirius.

 _'Umm… What?!'_

Maybe, somehow, Remus hadn't recognized Snuffles.

 _'I guess he didn't recognize me after all! I mean, why else would he not expose me?'_

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Snuffles turned his attention back to Harry. As Snuffles turned to cuddle up against Harry's legs in relief and giddiness that he hadn't been exposed, Snuffles didn't watch Remus leave the Great Hall.

And because of that, Snuffles didn't see the lingering stare that Remus had cast in Snuffles' direction moments before he passed through the doors of the Great Hall.

...

He was 85% – no, scratch that – he was 90% sure that Harry's dog was an escaped convict.

It sounded completely insane. And paranoid.

Insanely paranoid.

Before that night, before he had finally gotten a good look at Harry's dog, Remus hadn't been too concerned.

Yes, he had thought of the possibility many times, but he had always been able to brush aside his, what he had thought to be, paranoid thoughts about Harry's dog. But now that he had had the chance to see the dog close up when he had ducked under the table at the Christmas feast (and Merlin did he feel ridiculous for purposefully dropping his fork on the floor just so he could get a good up-close look at Harry's dog), Remus was pretty sure that Snuffles was Sirius Black.

Admittedly, Remus should've alerted Albus the moment he thought that Snuffles could _possibly_ be Sirius, but, at the time, Remus had felt that there was just too much conflicting information about it. Remus had been hesitant to report his suspicions because he didn't want Harry to feel like his dog was under unnecessary scrutiny or attack since he knew that Harry viewed Snuffles as something similar to a best friend.

Remus knew that Sirius Black was an animagus that was capable of transforming into a large, black dog, but that didn't necessarily mean that Harry's dog was Sirius. Also, Harry's dog had yet to show any signs of aggressive behavior towards Harry. To Remus' current knowledge, the only time that Snuffles has been seen as aggressive was towards others when Harry had been injured; and even then, the dog hadn't attacked anyone – he just growled in warning.

It was true that Remus had the chance to expose Snuffles as Sirius Black at the Christmas feast, but he didn't because, first of all, he wasn't 100% sure that the dog was actually Sirius. Secondly, if Snuffles really was Sirius, he didn't want to cause a scene when there were students present because one of the students could get seriously injured if Sirius panicked or decided to fight back.

Of course, Remus could always use an animagus revealing spell on the dog, but he wanted to wait until he managed to get the dog alone. Again, this would be to decrease the chances of someone, like a student, getting hurt if Snuffles was Sirius and he reacted badly to being forced into his human form.

Remus' next thought was to get Harry away from Snuffles-who-is-most-likely-Sirius and warn Harry away from his dog by explaining that the dog was actually an Azkaban escapee.

He could already imagine how the conversation with Harry about that would turn out.

'Oh, excuse me for a moment, Harry, but I believe that your dog is actually Sirius Black. Yes, I know it sounds crazy. No, I'm not joking. No, I'm not sick. Yes, Madam Pomfrey is a wonderful healer, but no, I don't need to go see her.'

And that was just one potential outcome. If he tried to warn, or just talk to, Harry about the possibility of Snuffles being Sirius Black, Harry could react… well, his reaction could be anything – positive or negative.

Remus would like to think that he knew Harry reasonably well – through Harry's time in his classroom and Remus' occasional chats with the boy as well as what the other professors have said about him. But realistically, Remus knew that he hadn't actually had the chance to _really_ get to know Harry. So Remus couldn't accurately predict how Harry could react to the possibility that his dog might not actually be just a dog.

Harry could take what Remus was saying as a joke, albeit a rather poor and distasteful joke.

Harry might think that Remus had snapped and needed to be submitted to the mental ward at St. Mungo's.

Harry could yell in denial or try to curse Remus for even suggesting something like that.

Harry could, and probably would, tell Snuffles all about 'Professor Lupin's crazy theory' which would alert the dog to Remus' suspicions. And that could end badly for everyone involved.

Harry might not really react at all. He might just stay calm and accept Remus' suspicions before agreeing to allow a discrete investigation into the matter of his dog being Sirius Black.

It could even be possible that Harry…

No.

But… well, yes. Yes. That could be possible. Very unlikely, but possible.

Harry might already know that his dog is Sirius Black.

Remus paused in the corridor for a moment to consider that idea before he forced himself to continue towards his room.

 _'What I need is some more time to figure out what exactly is going on because, although the facts are there and the clues paint a pretty revealing picture, some things just aren't quite adding up.'_

Finally making it to his personal quarters, Remus gave the portrait guarding his rooms the password and entered the room. Brushing through his small living room as he removed his outer robe and threw it on his couch, Remus went straight to his bathroom and turned on the cold water in his sink.

Cupping his hands, Remus splashed some water on his face and then turned off the tap. He looked up at himself in the mirror above the sink and gripped the edges of the sink hard, trying to ground himself.

 _'Snuffles is Sirius Black.'_

Remus' grip on the sink became even tighter as he hunched forwards and closed his eyes as thought about what he knew.

 _'Sirius escaped Azkaban after he made a claim about targeting Harry. But why would he not ki- hurt… why would he not hurt Harry if he escaped Azkaban for the sole purpose of doing that? It doesn't make any sense!'_

Remus took a deep breath and deliberately released his white knuckled grip on the sink to ball his hands into fists at his side.

 _'According to what Harry has said about his dog – and assuming that Snuffles really is Sirius – then Sirius has been with Harry for about five months! Sirius has had mostly unsupervised access to Harry for five whole months! But Sirius hasn't done anything to Harry other than befriend him. What is Sirius up to?! What is he playing at?'_

Opening his eyes, Remus took one last look at his reflection and walked out of the bathroom. Pausing between his living room and his bedroom, Remus decided to go ahead and walk into his bedroom.

 _'We were – are – no, we were positive that Sirius was after Harry, that Sirius was going to kil- hurt… that he was going hurt Harry in some way as a type of crazed revenge.'_

Remus heavily sat down on the edge of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. His fingers tightly gripped his hair.

 _'It doesn't make any sense – If Snuffles truly is Sirius, then Sirius hasn't done anything harmful to Harry. In fact, with the way that Harry was talking about him, talking about Snuffles, the other day, it sounded like Sirius was actually… protecting Harry. And Harry was… It's not a coincidence that the moment that Harry's dog went missing, Sirius Black was spotted in the castle, apparently desperate to get into Gryffindor Common Room… But if Sirius was really out to get Harry that night, then why would he make a spectacle of himself? Harry was saying that Snuffles got spooked on Halloween… No, Harry had said that his dog got spooked after Harry had been separated from him. And now, according to Harry, his dog isn't leaving his side. Harry was adamant that he and Snuffles were friends and that Snuffles was a great dog – if a little overprotective at times. It's almost as if Sirius has been guarding Harry. But why?!'_

Remus' breath stuttered as he suddenly jolted and lifted his head.

 _'Before breaking out of Azkaban, Sirius was heard saying "He's at Hogwarts" not "Harry's at Hogwarts". What if Harry was never his target? Sirius came to Hogwarts with Harry on the train, but if Sirius needed to get to Hogwarts, there were far easier and less risky ways to get into the castle. Sirius went to Harry first. And then decided to stay with Harry. Why?'_

Remus took a deep breath, his eyes subtly shifting left to right, not really seeing anything, as he considered what he knew.

 _'The timeline fits. Sirius escaped from Azkaban and then, not even a week later, Harry just happens to stumble across a stray dog. Sirius had to have gone straight from Azkaban to find Harry. And with the way that Harry tells it, it sounded as if Sirius was trying to remain unseen. He hadn't wanted to be found by Harry… Was he just… Was Sirius just checking up on Harry? But why would he… No, okay. Sirius found Harry after he broke out of Azkaban but before he came to Hogwarts, so Sirius knew that he'd be able to get to Harry without being at Hogwarts. There's "someone" at Hogwarts that Sirius is likely targeting, but it's not Harry. I think that… I think that Sirius is trying to protect Harry from whoever this "someone" is since Snuffles has been, in Harry's own words, overprotective and he doesn't leave Harry's side for long._

 _And what was it that the Fat Lady had said? What had Sirius been yelling at her? I recall that she said he had demanded entry and the other portraits in the area confirmed that, but there was a specific phrase she said he had used… What was – Ah, yes, I remember now. Apparently Sirius had said that "he's a danger" when he was trying to get into the Common Room. The other professors and I assumed that to be Sirius' ravings about Harry being a danger to the dark arts or to Death Eaters or something along those lines. But, what if, in all of the panic and confusion, the Fat Lady and the other portraits had misheard Sirius. What if, instead of saying "he's a danger", Sirius was saying "he's in danger"? With "he" meaning Harry this time.'_

Feeling a bit agitated, Remus took another deep breath and slowly released it. He began rapidly tapping his finger on the side of his leg.

 _'If Sirius has been attempting to protect Harry from some type of threat that's at Hogwarts all this time, then Snuffles being separated from Harry on Halloween could've triggered Sirius into a panic, thinking that Harry really was in danger from… From what? What's in Hogwarts? Or who's in Hogwarts that would be a threat to Harry? And how did Sirius manage to find out about it from all the way inside of Azkaban?_

 _Why hasn't Sirius said anything about this perceived threat to me – to Dumbledore or… or anyone? We would protect Harry from whatever the threat was just like we've been trying to protect Harry from Siri– Oh. Oh, that makes sense. If Harry's in danger and Sirius is the only one who knows about it… Sirius wouldn't risk getting caught or killed if Harry was in any immediate danger from this threat, especially since it appears that no one else has managed to find, or even know about, this new danger to Harry.'_

Remus stopped tapping his finger on his leg and clenched his teeth.

 _'But it still doesn't make any sense!_

 _Sirius betrayed James and Lily! Why would he be trying to protect their son?!'_

Remus got up off of his bed and began pacing back and forth.

 _'Something's not right. But I can't…_

 _Snuffles is Sirius – I'm almost absolutely positive of that. But Sirius' behavior towards Harry is entirely protective and friendly. And that makes no sense! I suppose that this could all be some sort of ruse that Sirius cooked up, but Sirius has never had the patience for long-term pranks or subterfuge. He would usually act before he completely thought things through. So if Sirius knew that Harry was going to be in danger at Hogwarts, his actions of breaking out of Azkaban and almost immediately going to check up on Harry make sense. But Sirius being worried about Harry in the first place doesn't make any sense at all!_

 _I think that the only conceivable way that I could see Sirius' behavior making any sense would be if… if Sirius still considered it to be his duty, as Harry's godfather, to protect Harry from harm. I mean, he's acting as if he never betrayed James and Lily in the first place…'_

Remus froze as something occurred to him and he went back over his last thought.

 _'If… if he never betrayed James and Lily…_

 _What if…_

 _What if Sirius didn't actually betray them?'_

Remus stood still, feeling unbalanced and slightly shaky at the implications of that thought.

 _'I don't…_

 _I know what happened that night, or at least, I think I do. But now that I think about it, everything I know about that night, I learned second-hand. I read about it in the papers. I was told the basic facts when I asked Albus. I was actually rebuffed at the Ministry and immediately sent away. And then, in my grief, I left the country for a while._

 _I never heard anything from Sirius' trial. I don't recall reading anything about it in any newspapers and surely some reporter would've mentioned something about Sirius' trial. Maybe it got buried by the trials of some of the other Death Eaters…_

 _Maybe the answers I'm looking for will be in the transcripts of Sirius' trial.'_

Remus sighed and turned on his heel. He went over to his dresser, pulled out his nightclothes, and started preparing for bed.

 _'For now, I don't believe that Snuffles, if he really is Sirius, is a threat to Harry. Although I'm not entirely comfortable with this, I think I'll… At the moment, I'll not try to confirm my theory about Snuffles being Sirius, even though I'm almost entirely positive that he is._

 _What I need to do is to get my hands on a copy of the transcripts from Sirius' trial. I know that back then, everything was quickly and quietly processed – maybe in all the rush, something was missed or overlooked. I'll probably have to find some time to go to the Ministry – I'm not sure if I could owl-order a copy…_

 _I'll get my answers from the transcripts, and if what I find in the transcripts is unsatisfactory, then I'll get Harry's dog alone and confront Sirius myself._

 _For now, I'll just content myself with monitoring the situation as best as I can. I can try to get to know Harry better over the course of his Patronus lessons – which I was already planning on doing. I feel like I owe it to James and Lily to be there for their son in whatever way I can.'_

In an attempt to take a step back from his thoughts for a while, Remus grabbed the book from his nightstand and decided to read a couple chapters in bed. Maybe after a good night's sleep, he'd be able to look at this Sirius problem from another perspective.

...

 _'The kid has guts, I'll give her that,'_ Snuffles thought as he watched the showdown that was unfolding in the Common Room.

Crookshanks was curled up next to Snuffles and watching Harry, Ron, and Hermione as well. Snuffles got along really well with Hermione's cat and was enjoying Crookshanks' steady purring as he tried to put Remus' possible sighting of him out of his mind.

 _'I'm totally on Harry and Ron's side in this argument, though. Don't get me wrong. I'm absolutely angry with her for doing that, but, man, Hermione, you've got balls! I think I'm actually kind of proud of her at the moment – if only for trying to ensure Harry's safety.'_

Snuffles turned to regard Crookshanks. After a moment, Crookshanks briefly turned his half-lidded gaze towards Snuffles before turning back to watch his owner.

 _'What Hermione just did was a dick move, completely unnecessary, and totally tattletale type behavior, but her heart was in the right place and I think that I want to give her a hug for doing it. I'm pretty sure she knew that by doing what she was doing, she'd be hurting Harry. But she also knew that if she didn't, it might've meant Harry's death – so, I guess what she did could be considered potentially saving Harry's life… It was still completely and totally unnecessary though.'_

When Snuffles returned to the Common Room with Harry and Ron, the two boys went straight back to examining and drooling over Harry's new Firebolt. Hermione had decided to stay at the Christmas feast a while longer. And her reasoning for doing so became apparent when, about ten minutes later, Hermione returned to the Common Room with Professor McGonagall.

Apparently, Hermione had reported Harry's new broomstick and the supposedly suspicious circumstances surrounding it to Professor McGonagall. So Professor McGonagall immediately followed Hermione up to the Common Room to seize the Firebolt from Harry.

If Snuffles wasn't so angry and oddly proud of Hermione (which was a weird combination of emotions), Snuffles probably would laughed at the fact that Harry attempted to hide the broomstick from McGonagall by quickly holding it in one hand behind his back. The Firebolt was very obviously sticking out from behind Harry and McGonagall had seen the broomstick in Harry's hands the moment that she had stepped into the Common Room.

Harry grudgingly handed his Firebolt over to McGonagall since she had demanded to take it away for some thorough examinations for curses and the like, just in case Sirius Black had sent it. And then McGonagall had swept out of the Common Room just as quickly as she had entered it, leaving Hermione behind as she awkwardly stood before the two boys, a bit shamefaced, but mostly looking stubbornly determined.

And now the three kids were in the middle of a spectacular shouting match. Ron and Harry were absolutely furious with Hermione, but apparently Hermione felt justified in what she did, so she was giving as good as she got.

Since emotions were a bit high between the three friends and Snuffles was still somewhat jumpy from the Christmas feast, Snuffles decided to play it safe and hunker down near the fireplace until their fighting wound down or until Harry left the Common Room to go to his dorm room. Crookshanks had wandered down from the girls' dormitory and joined Snuffles a few minutes after Harry and Ron started arguing with Hermione.

After about another fifteen minutes of heated arguing, Hermione turned away from the boys and stormed off towards the stairs and up to her room.

Ron and Harry glared at her as she left and continued to talk to each other for a few minutes more, though they spoke in more normal tones, rather than shouting.

Eventually Harry looked around the room as Ron made his way towards the stairs. Although he was still visibly angry, Harry managed to softly call Snuffles to his side. Snuffles slowly got to his paws in order to give Crookshanks some time to get up himself. As Snuffles trotted up to Harry, Crookshanks meandered towards Harry as well.

Crookshanks wound himself through Snuffles' legs and then Harry's legs before pouncing off towards the stairs leading to the girls' side of the dormitories.

Harry stomped up the stairs and entered the third year boys' dormitory with Snuffles quickly following behind him.

Snuffles was just happy that, even though Harry was in a bad mood, he didn't get the door slammed in his face again.

...

"A Firebolt!" Oliver Wood practically squeaked as he used both of his hands to squeeze Harry's shoulders.

Somehow Oliver had heard that Harry had received a Firebolt for Christmas. And not even an hour after the students who had went home for break returned to the castle, Oliver hunted down Harry in his excitement over the broomstick. Harry suspected that Fred and George had something to do with informing Oliver since it seemed like Oliver was under the impression that Harry still had the broom.

"Yes, but Oliver –"

"Do you know what this means?!" Oliver asked with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, but Oliver, don't get too excited because –"

"With you on that broom, we'll win the Quidditch Cup for sure!" Oliver said. He was too caught up in his excitement over his Seeker having a Firebolt to pay attention to what Harry was trying to say.

"But I don't –"

"Of course, I'll have to make some additional strategies –"

"Oliver, wait –"

"–because even though it's –"

"Oliver."

"–the fastest broom on the market –"

"Oliver!"

"–the whole team will have to step up their –"

"I DON'T HAVE IT!"

"–game too!" Oliver finished, looking like the cat that caught the canary before his eyes widened in alarm as he finally processed what Harry had just said. "Wait, what?! What did you just say?!"

"I said that I don't have it. I don't have the broom anymore," Harry sullenly stated.

"Why?! What happened?!" Oliver asked, shaking Harry's shoulders a bit.

"McGonagall took away my Firebolt to examine it for curses or something."

Oliver made a distressed whine, looking lost and a little heartbroken.

"She took it away the same day I got it because it might've been from Sirius Black. And I don't know when I'll get it back… or if I'll ever get it back," Harry added.

Oliver looked like he was going to cry and Harry felt a little bad about that, but there was nothing that Harry could do about it. And the Firebolt was Harry's broom – if anyone should be crying over that, it should be Harry! Yes, Harry was very angry about losing his Firebolt, but he wasn't moved to tears over the whole incident.

After a moment or two of having to watch Oliver look like he was fighting back tears (because Oliver had yet to release his grip on Harry's shoulders), Oliver suddenly squared his jaw and stuck out his chin in determination.

"Right," Oliver said, giving Harry's shoulders a light squeeze. "Don't you worry, Harry! I'll go talk to Professor McGonagall and get her to give you back your broom. You'll have that Firebolt back before the end of the day, you mark my words!"

Oliver released his grip on Harry's shoulders with a smile and walked away from Harry, intent on getting to McGonagall as soon as he possible could.

Harry stood in the middle of the Common Room and watched Oliver rush out of the room. Snuffles came up and brushed up against Harry's legs.

"Well, I hope he has better luck with getting my broom back from McGonagall than I did," Harry said to Snuffles as he brushed a hand over the dog's head.

About a half hour later, Oliver shuffled into the Common Room looking completely dejected. Oliver stopped by Harry, who was sitting at a table across from Ron playing chess.

"McGonagall will be keeping your broom until she can be certain of its safety. Apparently telling her that Quidditch was more important than any examination was the wrong thing to say. Sorry, Harry," Oliver said with a strained half smile.

"Thanks anyway, Oliver," Harry said, a little disappointed but not really surprised.

"At least he tried," Ron said as they watched Oliver trudge towards the stairs. "Checkmate!"

"Really, Ron?! We just started playing five minutes ago!"

"Hey, I can't help it that you royally suck at chess. Even Ginny's better at this than you!"

...

When Harry had his first Dementor-repelling lesson with Professor Lupin, he figured that the lesson would be fairly easy to learn and maybe slightly more challenging to perform – like something similar to what went on in their Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. Suffice to say, at the end of his first private lesson with Professor Lupin, Harry was very aware of the differences in lessons and also very aware of how difficult mastering the Patronus Charm was going to be.

Professor Lupin had started the lesson out with a bit of lecturing on the nature of Dementors as well as fielding a few questions from Harry. In fact, most of the first half of their first lesson consisted of talking. But, for the second half of the lesson, Harry was faced with a locked trunk.

"Now are you sure about this, Harry?" Professor Lupin asked. "You know, as I've told you before, this is very advanced magic – well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level."

"I'm sure," Harry said, feeling a mixture of confidence and nervousness.

"Well, everything for the practical portion of this lesson is prepared," Professor Lupin said, moving to stand between Harry and the locked trunk. "Now the spell I'm going to try to teach you is called the Patronus Charm. Have you ever heard of it?"

Harry shook his head.

"No? Well, the Patronus is a kind of positive force and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield – with the Dementor feeding on it rather than on him. Depending on the wizard, a Patronus could look just like a shield or, after the spell has been mastered and properly conjured, the Patronus could take on the form of an animal," Professor Lupin lectured as he sat down on the trunk. "But in order for it to work, you need to think of a memory – not just any memory – a very happy memory, a very powerful memory. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Harry quietly confirmed.

"Yes? Very well. Close your eyes," Professor Lupin instructed.

Harry took a deep breath before closing his eyes.

"Concentrate… Explore your past," Professor Lupin said as he stood up and walked towards Harry. "Do you have a memory?"

Keeping his eyes closed, Harry nodded his head.

"Allow it to fill you up. Lose yourself within it," Professor Lupin said, walking around Harry and stopping behind his right shoulder. "And then speak the incantation: Expecto Patronum."

"Expecto Patronum," Harry parroted before opening his eyes.

"Very good," Professor Lupin quietly praised. Then Professor Lupin walked back over to the locked trunk and looked at Harry. "Shall we?"

Harry nodded once.

"Wand at the ready," Professor Lupin advised.

Harry grabbed his wand from his pants pocket and held it out in front of him as Professor Lupin held his hand over the locks on the front of the trunk, moving his hand to the left and then to the right. As Lupin moved his hand, Harry heard the locks disengage.

Professor Lupin gripped the lid of the trunk with both hands and looked over at Harry to make sure that the boy was ready. Lupin nodded once at Harry and then pulled the lid of the trunk up. As the trunk opened, a screeching Dementor flew out.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry exclaimed, but nothing happened.

The Dementor was quiet as it slowly glided forward. The temperature around Harry began to drop as the Dementor moved closer.

"Expecto –"

The Dementor made a rattling sound as it started to suck in air, continuing to come closer to Harry.

"Expecto –" Harry trailed off shakily.

The Dementor was almost upon Harry.

"Expect –" Harry couldn't finish the incantation. His sight blackened around the edges as he heard his mother screaming his name. The last thing that Harry saw before he completely collapsed was the Dementor reaching for him.

As Harry slowly returned to consciousness, he felt hands underneath his head and shoulders, propping him up. Harry blinked a few times before fully opening his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that Professor Lupin was kneeling next to him and holding him somewhat upright.

"Here we go," Professor Lupin said when he noticed that Harry was aware of his surroundings once again. "Come on, let's sit you up. Deep breaths, Harry. Deep breaths."

Harry got his arms underneath him and pushed himself up into a seated position with the help of Professor Lupin. Once Harry was sitting up, Professor Lupin backed off a bit, but remained kneeling next to Harry with a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder.

"It's alright. I didn't expect you to do it the first time," Professor Lupin said as he removed his hand from Harry's shoulder and used it to reach into his sweater pocket. "That would've been remarkable."

Professor Lupin pulled a bar of chocolate out of his pocket, unwrapped it, and broke off a piece.

"Here," Professor Lupin said, offering the piece to Harry. "Eat this. You'll feel better."

As Professor Lupin was rewrapping the chocolate and putting the bar back in his pocket, Harry bit into the piece of the chocolate that he was holding in his hand.

After he finished off the piece of chocolate, Harry said, "That's one nasty Dementor you have there."

"Oh, no, no, no," Professor Lupin muttered before speaking in a louder voice. "That was a Boggart, Harry. Not a Dementor. A Boggart."

Professor Lupin stood up and went to relight the candles that were around the room. Harry hadn't even noticed the candles had gone out, probably due to the presence of a Dementor, or well, a Boggart acting like a Dementor.

"The real thing will be worse. Much, much worse," Professor Lupin said.

Harry finally managed to climb to his feet, but backed up towards the wall so that he could lean against it.

"As a matter of interest," Professor Lupin said, briefly turning to face Harry before returning to lighting the candles. "What were you thinking? Which memory did you choose?"

"The first time I rode a broom," Harry said, still feeling a little breathless.

Professor Lupin, finished with lighting the candles, turned to face Harry.

"Well, that's not good enough. Not nearly good enough to power a Patronus Charm," Professor Lupin said with a slight frown.

Harry looked away from Professor Lupin for a moment before pushing himself off of the wall and walking towards Professor Lupin.

"Would you like to try again?" Professor Lupin asked gently.

"Yeah," Harry said, clearing his throat and facing Professor Lupin and the trunk that was locked once again.

"Now I want you to think of a different memory – a happier memory," Professor Lupin coached.

Harry closed his eyes and thought of a different memory.

"Do you have it?" Professor Lupin asked.

Harry nodded affirmative.

"Are you ready?"

Harry nodded and held his wand out towards the trunk once again. Professor Lupin went to the side of the trunk and waved his hand over the locks. The trunk unlocked and Professor Lupin lifted the lid, releasing the Dementor-Boggart.

And again, Harry ended up unable to completely say the incantation and collapsed.

"What memory were you thinking of this time, if I may ask?" Professor Lupin questioned, kneeling next to Harry and holding out another piece of chocolate.

"My team winning the Quidditch Cup. We had just won and we were celebrating. It was… it had been a lot of fun," Harry responded as he sat up and accepted the chocolate.

"Better, Harry, but still not nearly strong enough," Professor Lupin said. "Do you want to try again? Or shall we end this lesson for now?"

"I want to try again," Harry said, sounding determined.

Professor Lupin was already on his feet and had extended a hand towards Harry. Harry used Professor Lupin's hand to pull himself up off of the floor.

"Very well," Professor Lupin said, returning to the locked trunk. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Harry returned to his position of standing in front of the trunk and pointing his wand towards the trunk.

"Are you ready?" Professor Lupin asked.

Harry nodded jerkily.

Professor Lupin released the Dementor-Boggart from the confines of the trunk once again, but this time Harry was ready for it.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry exclaimed, but nothing happened. The Dementor came closer.

Steeling himself, Harry drew in a deep breath and shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Suddenly a white-silvery wisp appeared from the end of his wand and started to grow larger, like a solidified wall of bright silver smoke that was about half the size of Harry.

The Dementor was pushed back by the solid silvery mist the first time that it tried to come closer.

Giddy at the first sign of success with the Patronus Charm, Harry's concentration waivered and the silvery mist coming from his wand dissolved under the Dementor-Boggart's second assault. Harry heard the sound of his father yelling at his mother to take Harry and run before Harry collapsed once more.

Harry returned to consciousness to the sound of Professor Lupin praising him.

"That was well done, Harry! Very well done!" Professor Lupin said as he helped Harry sit up. "I'm very impressed with how well you've done today. You could certainly give your father a run for his money, and I don't say that lightly. The Patronus Charm is notorious for taking months, if not years, to master and here you are already producing a partially successful shield during your first lesson."

Harry smiled wearily at Professor Lupin. He was tired, but also proud of his somewhat successful attempt.

Professor Lupin helped him sit up again, but this time Harry scooted himself backwards to lean against the wall. He didn't know how long he could keep himself upright if he didn't have the wall behind him. Professor Lupin moved from his kneeling position to sit near Harry and offer him another piece of chocolate.

"Might I ask what memory you used this time?" Professor Lupin inquired.

"I was thinking of me and Snuffles. It was one afternoon when I was just running around the grounds with him and after we wore ourselves out, we rested under the shade of one of the trees by the lake. And it was then that it hit me – that was when I realized that as long as I have Snuffles, I'll never really have to be alone again. And… I was just so happy at the thought of it," Harry said before blushing, a little embarrassed by the fact that he might've just overshared a bit.

"You really care about Snuffles, don't you?" Professor Lupin asked gently.

"Yeah," Harry said softly.

"Just out of curiosity," Professor Lupin seemed to be hesitating to ask his question. "Has your dog acted… differently around certain people?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard that Snuffles is protective of you and sometimes dogs are a better judge of character than we are or sometimes they'll pick up on how their owners act towards certain people," Professor Lupin explained. "So to test that theory, I was just wondering if your dog has acted particularly aggressive or docile around anyone in particular. Perhaps he growls a bit at Professor Snape?"

"Ha!" Harry snorted. "Yeah, I imagine he'd be prickly around Snape, but I didn't want to chance Snape having any opportunity to make me give up Snuffles. So I've tried to keep Snuffles as far away from Snape as I can – which is a particularly difficult thing to do when Snuffles feels the need to shadow my every move. At least he waits outside of the classrooms for me. I could only imagine what would happen if Snuffles tried to come into Potions class with me."

Harry paused for a moment to consider the first question that Professor Lupin had asked.

"But, yeah, now that I think about it, I've noticed that sometime Snuffles isn't all that friendly to Ron," Harry said.

"Oh?"

"But it's not all the time," Harry was quick to defend Snuffles' behavior. "I mean, it rarely happens. Like when Snuffles got all worried about me after I got hurt during my first Care of Magical Creatures class, Snuffles was very defensive. Snuffles didn't want anyone around me at the time, but he was really snarling and snapping at Ron whenever Ron would get too close to me. Also, for a while after Madam Pomfrey had healed me, Snuffles always seemed to put himself between me and Ron. Hermione thought Snuffles behavior towards Ron could've been because Ron might've reminded Snuffles of a… a not-so-nice previous owner of Snuffles or something. But generally speaking, Snuffles gets along great with Ron."

"So he only acts defensively towards Ron on certain occasions?" Professor Lupin asked to clarify.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Also… well, it's not a person, but I don't think Snuffles likes your Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Well, like I said, Snuffles will wait for me right outside of the door to whatever classroom I'm in at the time and he just generally lurks around the edges of Hagrid's Creatures class, but Snuffles will always wait for me at the end of the hallway whenever I'm in your class. He won't get any closer to the Defense classroom than he has to," Harry said. "It's kind of weird."

"Huh. I wonder why he does that," Professor Lupin said, sounding a bit off.

"I dunno… Maybe he smells something that he doesn't like?" Harry suggested as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Yes, well, who knows what goes on in the minds of dogs," Professor Lupin said. "I noticed that he didn't come with you to this lesson."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure if he'd be allowed to or not," Harry said.

"Although Snuffles might not like to see you collapse," Professor Lupin started to say wryly. "You are more than welcome to bring him along with you to these lessons."

"Really?" Harry asked and Professor Lupin nodded. "Then for the next lesson, I'll see if I can get him to come in the room with me. He walked with me here, but then he decided to lay down under the window that's at the end of the hall. I tried to call him to me, but he just stayed there watching me. So I'm pretty sure he's still there, watching the door and waiting for me to come out."

"Interesting," Professor Lupin said, standing up. "Well, I think, perhaps, we should stop here for now. You've made some very good progress today and it's only your first lesson."

Harry slowly got to his feet, silently agreeing with Professor Lupin's decision to end the lesson. He was exhausted and a little sore from falling on the floor a few times.

"Thank you again for teaching me this, Professor," Harry said.

"I'm more than happy to do so," Professor Lupin said. "I'll see you here at the same time next week for your next lesson."

"I'll be here!" Harry happily said.

Before Harry left, Professor Lupin gave Harry the rest of the chocolate bar and advised him to eat it.

And Harry had been correct. Snuffles was still laying under the window at the end of the hall, waiting for Harry. When Harry left the room, Snuffles got up and trotted over to him.

"Hey, Snuffles," Harry greeted, rubbing his hand over Snuffles' head as the dog fell into step beside him.

Together, Harry and Snuffles walked through the corridors and to the Gryffindor Common Room.

...

As time moved on and Harry continued to make progress in his weekly lessons with the Patronus Charm under Professor Lupin's tutelage, Harry began to notice that Hermione was looking extremely stressed and overworked.

There appeared to be bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her hair was bushier and more uncontrollable than normal. And more often than not, Hermione appeared to be closer to tears than anything else.

Harry was still very angry over the Firebolt incident, but Hermione was still his friend, even if they weren't exactly talking to each other at the moment. But it seemed like every time that Harry would want to go and ask Hermione if she was alright, he'd get distracted and then lose sight of her - either Harry would be in a rush to grab something, Ron would come up to him to ask a question, or Snuffles would run off down a corridor. But usually, what happened was that Harry would wonder about what had gotten Hermione so stressed out and then he'd end up thinking about what was currently stressing himself out.

Although Harry was making progress with the Patronus Charm, he couldn't actually get a solid Patronus to form. Depending on the memory he chose, Harry could get a weak silvery mist or a solid wall of bright silvery mist, but nothing more substantial than that.

But what really worried Harry was that he was pretty sure he might be sabotaging himself. Because maybe, just maybe, the reason why he was unable to conjure a proper Patronus was because he didn't want to lose that brief moment of hearing his parents' voices. The only memory he had of the sound of his parents' voices was what was brought out by the presence of a Dementor.

What if he couldn't master this spell because he didn't actually want to master it?

He knew that he needed to be able to conjure a proper Patronus to defend himself and Snuffles if there was another Dementor attack, but all he could manage was mist. Still, he supposed that progress was progress. At least he was able to form some kind of defense.

It was at the end of his most recent Patronus lesson with Professor Lupin that Harry asked Professor Lupin if he knew what was under a Dementor's cloak. Call it morbid curiosity, but Harry had been wondering about what was under a Dementor's cloak ever since his first encounter with that Dementor on the train.

"The only people who truly know are not in the state to report it," Professor Lupin responded. "A Dementor will only lower its cloak when it's preparing to administer the 'kiss' which essentially sucks out the soul of the person who's kissed."

Harry blanched at the thought of having his soul sucked out by a Dementor.

"But I feel that you should know that the Minister of Magic has given the Dementors permission to administer the kiss to Black if they find him," Professor Lupin added.

If Harry had been wanting some more motivation for him to conjure a proper Patronus, what Professor Lupin just said was definitely that. Just knowing that the Dementors lurking around the castle had permission to suck out someone's soul was horrifying.

Feeling a bit shaken by that thought, Harry left Professor Lupin, who, like always, gave Harry the rest of the chocolate bar at the end of the lesson.

When Snuffles padded up to Harry after he left the room, Harry bent down and hugged Snuffles tight. Snuffles snuffled lightly in Harry's ear before he whined in concern and licked the side of Harry's face.

"Sorry, Snuffles," Harry said, sounding a little shaky. "I just learned something that was kind of, well, that was really horrifying. I might just tell you about it a bit later. But not right now. Let's head on back to the Common Room."

Harry held onto Snuffles for a few more moments before letting go of the dog and standing up. As he walked with Snuffles through the corridors, Harry attempted to take his mind off of soul-sucking Dementors by trying to think of any reason for why Snuffles continued to refuse to join Harry in his lessons with Professor Lupin.

No matter what Harry said or did, Snuffles would never get closer to the door of the room than necessary. The only time that Snuffles came close to the door was when Harry would leave the room at the end of the lesson.

During their second lesson, Professor Lupin had asked if Snuffles had tagged along with Harry and if the dog was going to come into the room with them. When Harry had told Professor Lupin that the dog had adamantly refused to even come near the door, Professor Lupin briefly made a weird face – almost like he knew something that Harry didn't. But when Harry had asked if Professor Lupin had any ideas about why Snuffles wouldn't come into the room, Professor Lupin had said it was probably nothing.

The way that Snuffles was acting was a bit of a mystery. Harry knew he had thought it before, but sometimes Harry really wanted to know what was going on inside of Snuffles' mind.

"Mr. Potter."

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Professor McGonagall calling his name.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked politely, his eyes lighting up when he caught sight of his Firebolt in her hands.

"I was just on my way to Gryffindor Tower to return this to you," Professor McGonagall said as she held out the broomstick towards Harry.

Harry had to hold himself back from quickly snatching it. Instead, he calmly took the Firebolt from her. If his hands shook a little bit when he grabbed the broom, well, that was nobody's business.

"Thanks, Professor!" Harry exclaimed, so very excited to finally have his broom back. "Was there anything wrong with it?"

"Professor Flitwick and I cast as many detection spells as we could think of, but all of the results were negative for any kinds of jinxes or curses. As far as we can tell, your Firebolt is safe for you to use," Professor McGonagall said.

"Thanks again, Professor! I'm sure Oliver and the rest of the team will be happy that I've got my broom just in time for the Quidditch season to start back up again," Harry said.

"Yes, I imagine they would," Professor McGonagall said with a small smile.

Excited to return to the Common Room with his Firebolt, Harry said his goodbyes to Professor McGonagall and practically ran all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. Snuffles easily kept pace with him.

Upon entering the Common Room, Harry managed to draw the attention of the entire room after Ron loudly exclaimed that Professor McGonagall finally returned the Firebolt to Harry. The Gryffindor Quidditch team was alight with astonishment at the sight of the broomstick and Oliver in particular was pretty much skipping around the room in delight.

As his broomstick was passed around from Fred to George to Alicia to Oliver, Harry, still feeling like he was on cloud nine from getting his broom back, found Hermione at one of the tables and managed to get her attention away from her books for long enough to have a conversation. Their entire conversation boiled down to a few basic apologies exchanged back and forth, but it was a sign that their friendship was back on track.

Harry happily pried his broomstick out of Oliver's hands, feeling wonderful. He got his Firebolt back and he was pretty sure that he just repaired his friendship with Hermione. Everything was going great!

Harry ended up sitting with the rest of the Quidditch team, mainly talking with Alicia, Fred, and George but also partially listening to Oliver's rantings about coming up with some new strategies for the upcoming game against the Ravenclaws. Snuffles was sitting at Harry's feet and occasionally he would rub his head against Harry's legs silently asking to be petted.

Harry was tempted to find Ron, since the redhead had disappeared a few minutes ago, and together they could go over to Hermione and make sure everything was alright between the three of them now. Hopefully with all of them talking again, Hermione wouldn't look as stressed as she had been.

Just as Harry stood up from the couch, he saw Ron coming down from his dormitory looking furious and trailing a sheet behind him.

With his hands clenched into fists, Ron stormed right up to Hermione and shouted, "Scabbers is missing!"

Harry quickly ran over to where his two friends were with Snuffles trailing along behind him.

"Well, I had nothing to do with it!" Hermione defensively exclaimed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, well explain this!" Ron angrily said, unfolding his sheets.

The sheets were slightly bloodied, but Harry sucked in a breath when he saw the reason why Ron was blaming Hermione.

The orange cat hairs on the sheets were pretty condemning.

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

So, it was a bit of a hassle to get this chapter composed and typed up when my laptop's been occupied with DVD conversions. And if there's any grammar/spelling mistakes in this chapter – well, I didn't have that much time to proofread/edit it. Sorry. Just let me know if you find any glaringly obvious mistakes and I'll correct them.

And the slower-than-what-I-used-to-post updates will continue. I still have a lot of DVDs to convert to digital. So, again, I might post another chapter next Saturday or the following Saturday. I'm not quite sure.

And I always appreciate any comments/reviews you leave!


	9. Questions and More Questions

**Chapter Nine:** ** _Questions and More Questions_**

...

Harry hated it when his friends were fighting with each other.

But now…

Now…

Harry hated it even more – mainly because they weren't even talking to each other! Which meant that Harry had to choose between sitting with Ron or Hermione in class and talking to one or the other anywhere else. Also, Harry had to act as a type of go-between for them on occasion – and that became really annoying, really fast.

Before Ron accused Crookshanks of killing Scabbers, Ron and Hermione would still talk to each other even though most of their conversations usually devolved into arguments or shouting matches. Now, Ron and Hermione wouldn't even say "hi" to each other in the morning.

And Harry was firmly stuck in the middle of this epic fight, even if no words were being exchanged between to two fighting parties.

It was frustrating, to say the least.

But what was even more frustrating than his friends' small-scale version of a cold war was the way that Snuffles was acting.

Over-excessive, overbearing, and obsessively overprotective would be the words that Harry would choose to describe Snuffles' current behavior towards him.

And Harry didn't know what started his dog back down this path of need-to-protect-Harry behavior.

The last time that Snuffles had acted like something similar to his current behavior was after Harry had been hurt by Buckbeak or after Halloween when Snuffles got separated from Harry. But this time, for whatever reason, it was like Snuffles decided to kick his protect-Harry behavior into overdrive.

Harry couldn't even go to the bathroom without Snuffles trailing after him like a shadow, for Merlin's sake!

Apparently Snuffles' overprotective tendencies wouldn't allow Harry to be out of his line of sight anymore. Whenever Harry had a class, Snuffles would now try to follow Harry into the classroom every time, despite Harry telling him not to and that Snuffles wasn't allowed in the room – so instead, the dog would sit directly in front of the classroom door and, the moment that Harry's lesson ended, Snuffles would come charging into the room, heading straight for Harry.

But, despite Snuffles' extremely overprotective behavior towards Harry as of late, Harry had noticed that Snuffles seemed to be spending a lot of time with Hermione – only when Harry was also present in the same room and within Snuffles' line of sight, of course.

Whenever Harry was in the Common Room, Snuffles would usually go off and find Hermione, if Hermione was in the Common Room as well, that is. If Hermione was doing her homework at one of the tables, then Snuffles would curl up on the floor next to her feet. If Hermione was reading a book on the couch, then Snuffles would be laying down on the couch with her.

Right now, for example, Hermione was sitting in one of the window seats with a book in her hand, Crookshanks in her lap, and Snuffles laying at her feet. Every so often, Snuffles would lift his head and look at Harry, as if making sure Harry was still in the room. But what surprised Harry was that Hermione could still be reading with all of the noise in the Common Room.

A loud burst of laughter from Angelina drew Harry's attention back to the conversation that was taking place right next to him.

"– And how Harry just zipped passed –"

"– Fred, the way you aimed that last Bludger was fantastic! I can't believe –"

"– Speaking of amazing shots! Alicia did an absolutely –"

Harry had been going around the Common Room, talking with his fellow Gryffindors and celebrating their win against the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Currently, he was standing with Angelina, Fred, and Dean by a table that was loaded with snacks, desserts, and drinks that a few of them had managed to grab from the kitchens.

Harry had initially come to the table to grab a few Cauldron Cakes to split with Ron since Ron was doing his best to stay on the complete opposite side of the room from Hermione; and the window that Hermione was sitting by was, apparently, too close to the snack table for Ron to come and get the food himself.

So Harry, being the good friend that he was, decided to get some food for the two of them, mainly because for the past few minutes that Harry had been talking with Ron, the redhead kept gazing longingly at the food table before shifting his gaze to glare at Hermione… and then staring longingly at the food table once again. And then he'd repeat. Longing for food, glaring at Hermione, longing for food, glaring at Hermione. Food. Hermione. Food. Hermione.

But right now, Harry didn't want to dwell on the fact that his two best friends were fighting. All he wanted to do was relax and celebrate the victory that he and his Quidditch mates had won in the match against Ravenclaw – and there had been some pretty unusual excitement near the end of the match.

It had seemed like everyone in the castle had been buzzing with excitement about the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch game, especially Oliver Wood. And Oliver had channeled his excitement about the upcoming match into ensuring that the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was busy (and almost constantly) preparing for the game.

Harry had happily complied with all of the practices that Oliver had set up because it gave Harry ample time to learn the nuances and tricks of his Firebolt. It also helped Harry become more confident with flying on his new broomstick. In fact, it seemed like after the first Quidditch practice with Harry flying on his Firebolt, the entire team seemed to get a boost in confidence (especially after Harry managed to catch the Snitch within ten seconds of its release and the rest of the team performed their moves faultlessly). With their Seeker in the air with the fastest broomstick on the market, their chances of winning had increased exponentially.

When the day of the game finally arrived, Harry managed to get Snuffles to reluctantly stay with Hermione while Harry went with his team to go prepare for the upcoming game. Since Hermione said she would be watching the Quidditch match, Snuffles would be able to stay with her in the stands and somewhat sate his need-to-protect-Harry-and-keep-him-in-sight-at-all-times urge. Harry was hoping that being able to see him flying around from the stands would prevent Snuffles from panicking too much about being separated from Harry. And since Snuffles had been spending time around Hermione and Crookshanks, Harry figured that asking Hermione to watch Snuffles during the Quidditch game might also help with keeping Snuffles relatively calm.

The game against Ravenclaw had started out pretty much the same as any other Quidditch match (though with less shoving, as the Slytherin team was prone to do), with Harry circling around the pitch in search of the Snitch, Fred and George keeping the Bludgers away from their teammates, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie passing the Quaffle back and forth and scoring points, and Oliver stanchly defending their goals.

Harry had spotted the Snitch twice, but he had had the Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho Chang, on his tail; so in the attempt to get her off of his back, he accidentally lost sight of the Snitch. During that time, Gryffindor managed to get an 80 point lead over Ravenclaw.

By the time that Harry had spotted the Snitch for the third time, the Ravenclaws had managed to score some points – making it 80-30 in Gryffindor's favor. As Harry flew after the Snitch, he caught sight of three Dementors making their way onto the pitch. So, without thinking much about it, Harry cast a Patronus in the direction of those Dementors and then easily caught the Snitch, winning the game.

Harry had been euphoric with winning the game and successfully casting a Patronus at a group of Dementors.

When Harry touched down on the pitch, he had been almost immediately knocked down by an overeager and overprotective Snuffles. Harry had managed to keep to his feet and placed his hands on Snuffles, trying to calm him down as well as reassure the dog that he was fine.

As the Gryffindor fans ran out onto the pitch in celebration of the Gryffindor team's victory, Harry was swept away with the tide of well-wishers. It was only after Harry had made it back to the Common Room (with Snuffles sticking to Harry like glue) where the Quidditch victory celebration started up immediately and was in full swing that he learned about what had happened with the Dementors – or should he say, what had happened with the _supposed_ Dementors – on the Quidditch pitch.

Ron had gleefully informed Harry that the Dementors were actually three Slytherins dressed in cloaks. Flint, Crabbe, and Goyle had pretended to be Dementors with the intention of distracting Harry so that the Ravenclaw Seeker would catch the Snitch and the Gryffindors would lose the game. Obviously Flint, Crabbe, and Goyle's plan had spectacularly failed. Ron was so gleeful in his telling of the event because Professor McGonagall had caught the three Slytherins and punished them severely – much to the delight of, not only the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but the entirety of the Gryffindor House as well.

"Oi! Harry! Think fast!"

Thankful for his quick reflexes, honed by his time playing Seeker, Harry caught the thing that had been aimed at his face. Taking a quick peek to see what had just been thrown at him, Harry saw that it was a Chocolate Frog package.

Harry glanced over at the direction that it had come from and saw that George had now joined his twin brother in talking with Angelina and Dean. Since George was smiling brightly at him, Harry assumed that it was George who had thrown the Chocolate Frog. But, then again, it could've been Fred because Fred was looking a bit shifty… and amused.

Well, actually, maybe Harry was right in the first place and it was George who had thrown it because Dean was subtly looking at Harry and then pointing at George.

"Is it safe to eat?" Harry questioned lightly, one hand holding the Chocolate Frog and his other hand and arm holding as many Cauldron Cakes as he could carry.

"I am _shocked_ that you would think that we would've done something to it!" Fred said in mock offence.

"Absolutely appalled!" George agreed.

Angelina rolled her eyes and muttered, "Well, it wouldn't exactly be the first time, now would it?"

Fred and George moved in sync as they both placed a hand against their chest and gave Angelina a wounded look.

"We would never!" Both twins exclaimed at the same time.

"He just picked it up off of the table and tossed it at you, Harry," Dean said quietly. "It didn't look like they did anything to it."

"Snitch!" Fred accused teasingly, pointing at Dean.

"Yeah!" George agreed, also pointing at Dean. "Quick, catch him, Harry! It's your job as a Seeker!"

Dean huffed lightly as Harry chuckled and shook his head.

Seeing that Fred and George had already been pulled into a side conversation with Angelina, Harry waved the hand holding the Chocolate Frog at Dean before turning away. Harry maneuvered his way through the crowd of happy Gryffindors, occasionally getting a pat or two on the back, and made it back across the room to the two chairs that he and Ron had commandeered.

Still not entirely convinced of the safety of the Chocolate Frog (who knew what the twins could've done to it, even if it had only been in their hands for a few seconds? The safer bet would be to not risk it at all), Harry, once again proving to be a great friend, offered the Chocolate Frog to Ron. Ron would probably think the risk was worth it for the Chocolate Frog. Probably. Maybe.

Well… maybe not.

"Thanks mate!" Ron said, opening the Chocolate Frog package as Harry set down the Cauldron Cakes on the floor between them, keeping one for himself to open right then and there.

As Harry unwrapped his Cauldron Cake, he overheard two of his fellow Gryffindors, who were walking behind where Ron and Harry were sitting, making fun of the Slytherins pretending to be Dementors and saying how awesome Harry's response had been.

"Ya know, I'm not surprised that those slimy Slytherins would pull something like that," Ron commented around a mouthful of Chocolate Frog. Apparently Ron had overheard that conversation as well.

Harry hummed in agreement before biting into a Cauldron Cake. Ron wasn't turning any funny colors or losing his hair, so maybe the twins really hadn't messed with that Chocolate Frog. Oh well, Harry was more than happy with eating his Cauldron Cake.

"But what did surprise me," Ron continued, "was that Malfoy wasn't one of the ones pretending to be a Dementor."

Harry stilled, before forcefully swallowing the bite of cake he had in his mouth.

"It sounds an awful lot like something he would do. I'm almost shocked that he wasn't all over that nasty trick," Ron said.

"Yeah, weird," Harry said distractedly. He hadn't exactly forgotten about the conversation that he had with Malfoy on Halloween, but he hadn't been actively thinking about it either. With all that had been happening, Harry hadn't really given much thought to Malfoy.

Harry was still half-convinced that his entire conversation with Malfoy was some Halloween candy, sugar-induced hallucination. But then again, the way that Malfoy had been (and still was) acting pointed to the conversation being something that actually happened.

Now that he learned about how Black betrayed his parents, Harry knew what Malfoy was talking about when he had suggested that Harry would want revenge against Black. But Harry wasn't entirely sure that taking the Slytherin up on his offer to help plan his revenge against Black would be the smartest thing to do. And just because Harry didn't have a solid plan for confronting Black yet, didn't mean he needed anyone else's help.

Also, Malfoy's version of _help_ might be more of a _hindrance_. Who knew what Malfoy would try to do? Although he had some type of temporary truce with Malfoy, Harry wouldn't trust the blond as far as he could throw him. Harry knew better than that.

And, yes, Harry acknowledged that he probably should've told Ron and Hermione about the whole Malfoy fiasco.

At first, he hadn't told them because he had been worried about Snuffles being missing. And then Ron and Hermione had been at each other's throats over about their pet issues and Harry hadn't wanted to accidentally start an argument between them since, more often than not, it had seemed like every time the two talked with each other, their conversation ended up turning into a fight. And now, the two weren't even talking to each other, so Harry didn't know how to even broach the subject of Malfoy, let alone tell them that he hadn't told them about his conversation with Malfoy immediately after it had happened.

Even though Harry was more sympathetic towards Ron's side of the Crookshanks versus Scabbers argument (because if the worst did happen and Scabbers really was dead, then Harry could understand where Ron was coming from because if the signs pointed towards someone being responsible for the death of either Hedwig or Snuffles, then Harry would be raising whatever hell he could to get justice for it), Harry didn't want to appear as though he was taking sides – and if he told Hermione first or Ron first about the Malfoy issue, it might look like he was taking sides in the Crookshanks/Scabbers argument… and that could spark a whole other fight, only Harry would be in the middle of it and not just acting like a somewhat neutral party or mediator.

So, for now, Harry would have to deal with the issue of Malfoy by himself. Harry figured that he'd have to talk to Malfoy again sooner rather than later because he knew that if he seemingly ignored Malfoy for too long, then Malfoy might start causing trouble for him again. And Harry really didn't need any more trouble added to his life right now. Ron and Hermione's fight, Snuffles' overprotectiveness, Dementor attacks, and Black's betrayal and murderous intentions towards him were enough trouble for Harry to deal with at the moment.

Maybe he'd talk to Snuffles about the Malfoy issue sometime later – it might help to talk about it with someone, even if that someone was a dog who couldn't really offer any advice. But for now, Harry was determined to forget about it and enjoy the atmosphere of the Gryffindor's celebratory party.

...

Dressed in his best robes, Remus quickly stepped out of one of the many large fireplaces in the Ministry atrium so that he didn't get accidentally trod on if someone came out of the Floo behind him. Remus muttered a cleaning charm to brush the soot from his robes as he was waved over by the guard at the security desk.

After having his wand checked and his name and purpose for visiting the Ministry of Magic recorded, Remus made his way towards the elevators. One of the elevators opened and, along with two flying memos, four wizards heatedly arguing with one another pushed passed Remus as they exited the elevator.

Once the wizards were out of the way, Remus entered the elevator and pushed the button that would take him to the floor he needed. He was joined by two witches and a wizard just before the elevator doors closed so Remus moved to stand in the far right corner and reached up to grab the strap hanging from the ceiling. After being jerked from left to right and then up, Remus arrived at his stop.

The Office of Records.

"Excuse me," Remus said as he moved passed one of the witches on his way out of the elevator.

The layout of the Office of Records was pretty straightforward. There were multiple desks in rows off to the left and the right of the short hallway that lead from the elevator towards the main reception desk.

The Office of Records was quiet and mostly empty. From what Remus could see, there were only two witches and three wizards working at some of the side desks. At the reception desk, there was a witch who had her arm propped up so that she was resting her head on her curled fist and she looking down at something on the desk in front of her.

As Remus approached the reception desk, he noticed that the witch was browsing through what looked to be a Witch Weekly magazine. Remus stood in front of the desk for a moment or two as he waited for the witch to acknowledge him, but the witch didn't even look up. She just flipped to the next page of her Witch Weekly magazine.

"Ahem," Remus cleared his throat. "Pardon me."

Not looking up from her magazine, the witch sounded pretty apathetic as she asked, "How can I help you?"

"I was hoping to get a copy of the transcripts from Sirius Black's trial," Remus said, getting straight to the point of his visit.

The witch partially lifted her head and looked at Remus from over the rims of her glasses. She looked decidedly unimpressed.

Sighing, the witch sat up fully and leaned back in her chair. She turned to look towards a door to her right and yelled, "Henry!"

There was a thump that came from behind the door that the witch was glaring at. The door was quickly jerked open and a lanky wizard, who looked to be in his twenties, practically fell away from the door and into the room.

"Yes, Ms. Lankin?" Henry said as he stumbled to a stop a few steps away from the room that he had just appeared from.

"Get me the court transcripts for the trial of Sirius Black," the witch, Ms. Lankin, demanded.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Henry quickly spun on his heel and returned to the room that he had just come from, shutting the door behind him.

"Right," the witch sighed as she bent down to open one of the lower drawers on the desk. "I'm going to need you to fill out this form," she pulled out a folder, grabbed a sheet of parchment from it, and slapped the parchment down on the desk in front of Remus, "It's just a basic request form."

The witch grabbed a self-inking quill from her desk and set it down next to the form.

"Just fill out all the information to the best of your ability," Ms. Lankin said, sounding as if she was seriously doubting Remus' ability to even write down his name. The witch then returned to flipping through the pages of her magazine.

Feeling frustrated with the witch's attitude, Remus quietly sighed before picking up the quill. Since the desk only came up to the top of his waist, Remus had to bend down a bit as he began to fill in the blanks on the request form.

"Where it says 'Type of Request' just write down 'court transcript'," Ms. Lankin pointed to a line on the form without even looking up from the article in Witch Weekly that she was reading. "And leave this line blank. I'll have to write down the record number from the transcripts on this form once Henry gets back with the transcripts… And then I'll make a copy of them for you to take."

Remus got the form filled out fairly quickly, mainly because it was a simple form to fill out, but also because he wanted to leave as soon as he could. Ms. Lankin's attitude was really grating on his nerves.

After a few minutes of Remus awkwardly standing in front of the desk, Ms. Lankin sighed deeply and muttered something about incompetent new-hires. She briefly looked up at Remus before leaning back in her chair once again and shouting, "Henry! Hurry it up!"

Remus heard what sounded like a drawer to a filing cabinet being slammed shut, and then it sounded like a whole filing cabinet fell over before the sound of a thump indicated that a person had just fallen over as well. And yes, those were definitely the exclamations of a wizard in pain that Remus was hearing.

About five minutes later, the door that Henry had disappeared through opened once again as Henry hesitantly walked towards Ms. Lankin with a troubled look on his face.

"Well?" Ms. Lankin asked, snapping her fingers and then holding out her hand towards Henry.

"I – uh… I… That is to say…" Henry mumbled as he fiddled with the edge of his robe sleeve.

"Spit it out!" Ms. Lankin demanded.

"I can't find the transcripts!" Henry blurted, looking embarrassed. "I, uh, I looked everywhere I could think of, but I couldn't find anything related to the trial of Sirius Black."

Ms. Lankin sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes as she pushed her chair away from the desk and stood up, muttering, "Why am I not surprised?"

The witch turned to Remus with a grimace as she said, "I apologize for his inability to get anything done at all. I'll just go get those transcripts, shall I?"

Henry was still standing in front of the door and fidgeting.

"I guess I have to do everything around here. Come on," Ms. Lankin practically growled, grabbing Henry's arm to turn him around and then shoving him through the door in front of her. Ms. Lankin slammed the door shut behind them.

"Well, she's just a ray of sunshine, isn't she?"

Remus startled a bit since he hadn't realized that one of witches who had been working at one of the other desks when Remus had entered the Office of Records had come up behind him.

"I – uh…" Remus trailed off, agreeing with the newcomer, but not wanting to actually say that and be rude.

"Don't feel the need to answer," the witch said with a smile. "It was kind of rhetorical. She's always like that, so don't take it personally. She's just grumpy. Like, I'd say I don't know why she hasn't been asked to _not_ work at the reception desk, but it's probably because she has a mind like a steel trap!"

The witch continued talking as she walked around to the other side of the desk and pulled open one of the drawers.

"She remembers absolutely everything – which is great for working with records, but not so great if you once grabbed a file without her knowing… and without informing her after the fact that you had, in fact, grabbed it and she had not, in fact, lost it."

She grabbed a folder and then closed the drawer.

"She can hold a grudge like no other," the witch, still smiling, waved the folder she had in her hand. "Which is why I now wait for her to leave the desk if I need a file or form or something from her. It is so much easier than asking her, believe me!"

Remus was still standing in front of the desk, his mouth partially open and not knowing how he was supposed to respond.

"Umm… That's nice?" Remus asked, somewhat confused about why this witch was telling him about it.

"Yup! See ya!" The witch chirped before turning and walking back across the room towards one of the other desks.

As soon as he saw the witch sit back down at her desk, the door that Ms. Lankin went through opened and the witch returned, looking very displeased.

Ms. Lankin returned to her chair, but didn't sit down.

"I'm afraid that at this time we are unable to locate the transcripts of Sirius Black's trial," she said, looking at Remus as if it were his fault that the transcripts were missing. "And there isn't an indication of anyone having checked out the transcripts."

"What?" Remus asked, worried about what the transcripts being missing could mean.

Ms. Lankin held up her hand to silently say that Remus should stop talking.

"Look," Ms. Lankin sighed, sounding disgruntled. "This happens sometimes because _some_ Ministry employees, like Aurors, like to think that they're above the check-out and request process that we have here at the Office of Records. Sometimes someone will just wander in here and grab whatever they want without so much as a by-your-leave – and because they have a certain level of clearance in the Ministry, the wards don't keep them out of the records room. And then they just decide to not tell anyone that they grabbed the file or transcript or whatever the hell it is that they grabbed."

"But then –" Remus started to say, but was interrupted by the witch.

"Look, why don't you just go on up to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Ms. Lankin suggested, still sounding irritated. "Since Black's on the loose, it's likely that one of the Aurors on the Black case came here and grabbed the transcripts to look for clues or whatever," Ms. Lankin rolled her eyes, "and whoever grabbed it just didn't go through the _proper process_ needed for getting _a copy_ of the transcripts. They probably just grabbed the original transcripts – which is a major pain and will cause me a major headache trying to get this thing sorted out. But, if you need the transcripts sooner rather than later, then you should go find whoever the hell has them and have them make you a copy. And then tell them to come to the Office of Records and _return the damned transcripts_! I'm guessing that those transcripts are somewhere within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but who the hell knows where they could actually be."

Ms. Lankin sat down, grabbed a piece of parchment, and began writing furiously on it.

"Thank you for your time," Remus said, wanting to be polite even though Ms. Lankin had been quite rude. The witch didn't even look up, seemingly ignoring Remus.

Remus stood still for a moment longer before awkwardly nodding at the witch, who still wasn't paying any attention to him, and then walked back towards the elevator, taking it to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Unlike the Office of Records, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was alive with energy. There were secretaries and assistants scurrying around with files or tea, some Aurors moving back and forth throughout the Department, and other Aurors leaning against desks or cubicles, talking and creating a hum of general conversation that permeated throughout the room.

Also, unlike the Office of Records, there was no obvious reception desk. So Remus walked up to the first person that he saw sitting at an open desk that was closest to where Remus had gotten off of the elevator.

"Sorry to interrupt," Remus said as he approached the wizard behind the desk. The wizard looked up from report he was filling out.

"Yes?" the wizard asked.

"Do you know who I should see about finding some misplaced trial transcripts?" Remus asked, purposefully not mentioning Sirius Black because he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself by mentioning Sirius near the Aurors who are undoubtedly in the middle of hunting down Sirius at this exact moment. He'd rather find one person he could talk to about this, rather than having to deal with a potential group of Aurors asking about why he was looking into Sirius Black's trial.

"Well, I'd try talking to Madam Bones or her assistant. If anyone here was looking into some transcripts, Bones would know or she'd be able to find out the fastest – one of the perks about being the Head of the Department, yeah?" the wizard said. "Her office is down that way," the wizard pointed behind him, "and then take right at the end of the hall. Her office is right there. You can't miss it."

"Thank you," Remus said as he walked away, following the wizard's directions towards Madam Bones' office.

After a short walk, Remus made it to Madam Bones' office. When he arrived, Remus noticed a desk off to the left of Madam Bones' office door.

"Pardon me," Remus said, catching the attention of the secretary seated at the desk.

"Yes?" the witch asked, looking over at Remus. "How may I help you?"

"I was hoping to speak to Madam Bones about a court transcript," Remus said.

"Do you have an appointment?" the secretary asked.

"No, I don't, but if she's unavailable, perhaps you could help me?" Remus asked.

"I can't guarantee anything, but I'll see what I can do. What do you need assistance with?" the witch asked.

"I was just at the Office of Records where I was hoping to get a copy of the transcripts from Sirius Black's trial, but the transcripts are missing. I was told to come here since it was likely that an Auror had the transcripts pulled from the Office around the time that Black escaped Azkaban," Remus said. "Would you or Madam Bones know where the transcripts are so that I could get a copy for personal review?"

"Well, I don't know off the top of my head, but let me see what I can do," the witch said as she began to sort through some of the folders on her desk. Grabbing one of the folders, which Remus could see had been labeled Sirius Black, the witch opened it and started leafing through the papers in the folder.

The sound of shuffling paper was all that could be heard for a few moments until the witch pulled out one of the sheets. She looked over it for a few seconds before pursing her lips and putting the paper back in the folder.

"Ah, okay, I would say that you should talk to the lead investigator on the Black case, but I happen to know that he and Auror Dawlish just left to go look into the latest possible sighting of Black. I can't say for sure when the lead Auror on the case will return," the witch placed the folder back into the stack on her desk before standing up. "But let me check with Madam Bones. She might have some time to meet with you and discuss this."

"Thank you," Remus said sincerely.

The witch walked out from behind her desk and knocked on the door to Madam Bones' office. After being told to enter, the witch partially opened the door to peer into the room.

"Excuse me for a moment, Madam Bones, but do you have some time to meet with –" the witch turned around and sent a look at Remus, silently asking his name.

"Remus Lupin," Remus promptly said.

"– Mr. Lupin? He has a question about some missing court transcripts," the witch finished saying.

Although Remus couldn't quite make out Madam Bones' response, he assumed that she agreed to meet with him since her secretary nodded at Remus and moved away from the door, gesturing for Remus to enter the room.

Remus smiled politely at the witch and walked into Madam Bones' office. The secretary gently closed the door behind Remus.

"Good afternoon, Madam Bones," Remus greeted as soon as he saw Amelia Bones sitting behind her desk. When Remus had entered the room, Madam Bones stood up and gestured for Remus to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Remus smiled as he took a seat.

"Good afternoon to you as well, Mr. Lupin," Madam Bones said cordially. "I've already heard many good things about you from my niece, Susan Bones. I believe she referred to you as her favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"Miss Bones has been performing admirably in my class. She and Miss Abbott worked together exceptionably well when I had my third year class go over counter-jinxes the other day," Remus said with a fond smile.

"I would imagine so," Madam Bones agreed. "Now, what can I do for you today, Mr. Lupin? Something about missing court transcripts?"

"Yes. I was just at the Office of Records where I was hoping to get a copy of the transcripts from the trial of Sirius Black. Unfortunately, they were unable to find the transcripts, so they directed me to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I was told it was likely that the transcripts may have been taken by one of the Aurors here after Black's escape from Azkaban," Remus explained.

"Hmm. Yes, I'm sorry to say that it's been known to happen. On occasion, someone will be too eager to look into a case that he or she forgets to go through the proper channels within the Office of Records," Madam Bones said, standing and walking over to a file cabinet that was behind her desk and to the left.

As Madam Bones pulled open a drawer and started going through the files, she continued to say, "Black's escape has caused a lot of panic, especially since escape from Azkaban is unprecedented. I can't say I'm entirely surprised to hear that the proper channels weren't followed to get those documents. I'll have to have to address this issue with my department once we find those transcripts for you."

Madam Bones pulled out a folder and shuffled through the papers. After a moment, she furrowed her brow and shut the folder, returning the folder back to its place in the filing cabinet and shut the drawer. Then Madam Bones moved onto a different drawer where she repeated the process of systematically shuffling through all of the files that were contained within it. And then she moved onto another drawer and then another drawer until she had gone through all of the drawers in that particular filing cabinet.

After fruitlessly searching through the folders in the filing cabinet, Madam Bones returned to her desk and started going through the drawers and files in her desk.

"At times like these, it would be convenient to be able to just summon the file that I needed," Madam Bones stated conversationally. "But, as a precaution, we charm all case files and documents with anti-summoning charms to prevent anyone with ill intentions from having an easy way – simply summoning a folder or the like – of accessing whatever information he or she was after."

After Madam Bones shut the last drawer in her desk that she went through, she turned to look at Remus.

"Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Lupin," Madam Bones said, standing and walking towards her office door.

"Of course," Remus said.

Madam Bones stepped out of her office, leaving the door open as she moved towards where Remus knew her secretary's desk was. Although Remus couldn't see Madam Bones, he was able to hear what she was saying.

"Ms. Lewis, could you run a quick errand for me?"

"Of course, Madam Bones."

"I need you to find Shacklebolt and ask him if he knows anything about the transcripts of Sirius Black's trial. Since Scrimgeour just left to go look into a potential Black sighting, Shacklebolt would be the one who is most likely to know about the whereabouts of the Black trial transcripts – and be sure to emphasize that it's Sirius Black's trial transcripts that we're looking for – Merlin only knows how many Blacks we've tried in the past."

"I'll go find him now, Madam Bones."

"Thank you, Ms. Lewis."

Madam Bones walked back into her office and shut the door behind her. As she sat back down at her desk, Remus spoke up.

"I'm sorry to cause all of this fuss," Remus said, sincere in his apology for causing this trouble for Madam Bones, but completely unrepentant for getting her to look for Sirius' trial transcripts – especially if those transcripts really were missing, and not just misplaced.

"Nonsense, Mr. Lupin," Madam Bones said. "It's better for my department to find those transcripts now rather than have everyone scramble to find them later when someone else, like Minister Fudge, for example, comes asking for them."

After a few moments of silence as they both waited for Madam Bones' secretary, Ms. Lewis, to return, Madam Bones asked about the specifics of how her niece was doing in Remus' class. From there, the conversation flowed about Susan's strengths in her Defense lessons and certain aspects of what Remus was teaching in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

It was about twenty minutes later when a knock sounded at the door.

"Madam Bones?" Ms. Lewis called through the door.

"You can come in, Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones said, raising her voice slightly so that Ms. Lewis would hear her.

Ms. Lewis opened the door, holding a thick folder in her hands.

"Do you have the transcripts there?" Madam Bones asked as Ms. Lewis walked across the room and placed the folder into Madam Bones' outstretched hand.

"Unfortunately, no," Ms. Lewis said. "But that folder contains everything that we have on Sirius Black. Both Auror Shacklebolt and I searched through that folder as well as a few other places – the filing cabinets and the desks and cubicles of all of the other Aurors assigned to the Black case – in addition to questioning all of the Aurors who are on the Black case, and are currently present in the Ministry, about the location of the transcripts from Sirius Black's trial. But we were unable to find anything. No note, no memo, not even a reference to the transcripts in any of the other files on Black. And no one has seen the transcripts either."

"That's…" Madam Bones trailed off, opening the folder and skimming through the papers within it.

Madam Bones looked up at her secretary and said, "Thank you, Ms. Lewis. That will be all for now."

Ms. Lewis nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"I'm afraid I don't quite know what to tell you, Mr. Lupin," Madam Bones said apologetically. "But I will sincerely thank you for bringing this to my attention. Those transcripts are probably floating around the Ministry somewhere – who knows who took them from the Office of Records in the initial panic of Black's escape from Azkaban. I promise you that I will make it my priority to find those transcripts and I will personally be looking into this."

"Thank you, Madam Bones," Remus said, standing up from his chair. "And thank you for taking the time to meet with me, unexpected though my visit was."

"I'll be sure to send you an owl whenever I manage to locate the transcripts of Sirius Black's trial," Madam Bones assured Remus as she also stood to escort Remus out of her office.

"Hopefully, you'll be receiving that owl sooner rather than later," Madam Bones said with a wry twist of her lips.

"I hope so too. Thank you again, Madam Bones," Remus said before turning away from her and walking back through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and towards the elevator. It was about time he returned to Hogwarts.

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

So, things are going somewhere – Harry remembered Malfoy's offer and Remus has brought attention to Sirius "missing" transcripts!

Also, I don't really have any knowledge of the inner workings of the Ministry of Magic – so let's just say that how I wrote it is how it goes, yeah? And I know that in canon, the Office of Records doesn't exist, but for the purpose of this story – it does. My explanation to any of the discrepancies about the Ministry of Magic is: this story takes place in an alternate universe – for the purposes of the plot, I have tweaked and messed with the departments/offices and the locations of those department/offices of the Ministry of Magic.

And as for why I have the Ministry employees (and Remus) assuming that Sirius' court transcripts were just missing/misplaced – well, no one would think that the records didn't exist in the first place because everyone is operating under the assumption that, if Sirius was in Azkaban for all these years, then he obviously had a trial and was found guilty.

Oh! And in the next chapter, you'll get a look at what Snuffles is thinking in relation to Scabbers going missing – so you can look forward to that!

And I always appreciate any comments/reviews you leave!


	10. Predictions

**Chapter Ten:** ** _Predictions_**

...

It was just one of those nights.

He tossed and turned, but no matter what he did, Harry just couldn't fall asleep. With all of the movement he'd been making trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in, Harry was kind of surprised that he hadn't managed to accidentally wake up Snuffles.

Snuffles, the lucky dog, was sleeping away, right next to Harry.

After a few more minutes of shifting, Harry decided to temporarily give up on trying to sleep for the moment. Harry sat up with a quiet sigh and reached over through his curtains to his nightstand. He slipped his glasses on his face, grabbed his wand, and reached into his nightstand drawer, pulling out the Marauder's Map.

"Lumos," Harry whispered with his wand in his hand

As the tip of his wand lit up, Harry glanced over at Snuffles. Luckily the light hadn't woken up the dog. Snuffles has been on so edge recently that seeing him relaxed was a relief – even if the only time that Snuffles seemed to relax anymore was whenever he was sleeping. And even then, it was hit and miss. Snuffles has had a rough few nights. Sometimes Harry would be woken up and thus able to help Snuffles, but Harry was willing to bet that Snuffles had nightmares that didn't wake up Harry; and that Snuffles was forced to suffer those nightmares alone.

With a soft, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry watched as the Marauder's Map came to life in his hands.

Harry hadn't really looked at the Map all that much since the twins had given it to him, so now was as good a time as any to indulge his idle curiosity. Even though there probably wouldn't be too many people out and about at this time of night, Harry would still enjoy looking at the Map.

After a few minutes of gazing at the many sections of the map and watching a professor or two patrol the corridors, some movement on the map caught his eye.

Someone was walking down one of the corridors, and it wasn't a professor or a prefect doing their rounds.

The name seemed familiar… Was he a student?

Where had Harry heard that name before?

Oh.

 _Oh._

No.

No, that's impossible.

And yet…

Peter Pettigrew was apparently walking down one of Hogwarts' many corridors.

 _'I thought Peter Pettigrew was killed by Black… Maybe the Map is wrong?'_

Well, perhaps a quick jaunt out of bed would help Harry get this restlessness out of his system. He could investigate why Pettigrew's name was appearing on the Map and then he would go back to bed – and hopefully fall asleep.

Unfortunately, no matter how carefully Harry tried to get out of the bed, the shifting of the mattress as Harry got up had woken Snuffles.

 _'So I can toss and turn all I want, but the moment my feet touch the floor, Snuffles pops up. It's like he can sense whenever I'm going to leave or something.'_

Snuffles groggily looked at Harry and then shook himself when he realized Harry was standing up next to the bed.

"Go back to sleep, Snuffles," Harry whispered.

Snuffles stood up on the bed in response.

"Seriously, I'll be right back," Harry softly assured. "You can stay right here and get some more rest."

Snuffles looked very unimpressed with Harry as he silently hopped off of the bed and landed on the floor next to Harry.

After a brief stare off between Harry and Snuffles, Harry looked away and sighed.

"Oh, alright," Harry gave in. "You can come with me."

With the Map opened in one hand and his lit wand in the other, Harry quietly led the way out of the room, listening to the soft clicks of Snuffles claws hitting the floor as the dog trailed along after him.

As Harry left the Common Room, Snuffles picked up his pace so that he was walking next to Harry, rather than following behind him. Continuing to consult the Map to be aware of Pettigrew's location, Harry barely paid any mind to the dog walking beside him until Snuffles let out a quiet bark.

Looking down at Snuffles, Harry quietly asked, "What?"

In response, Snuffles cocked his head to the side, still looking up at Harry.

Harry figured that Snuffles wanted to know what Harry was doing out of bed and roaming around the castle in the middle of the night. After checking the Map and seeing that there was only a 'Harry Potter' and a 'Snuffles' in the area, Harry decided to tell Snuffles what was going on. It would still take them a minute or so to get close to where Pettigrew was supposedly at.

"This is the Marauder's Map that I was telling you about the other day," Harry whispered, slightly shaking the parchment in his hand. "And I couldn't sleep tonight so I decided to activate it and look at it just because I could and, well, you'll never believe who I saw walking down one of the corridors – Peter Pettigrew!"

Harry had his eyes on the Map, so he completely missed Snuffles jerking to a stop beside him.

"I mean, it took me a minute to recognize the name, but this guy is supposed to be dead, right? So I thought I'd see what was going on. If this Map is right, we're getting really close to where Pettigrew is wandering."

...

Fire and ice.

Simmering rage and chilling fear.

He wanted to charge ahead at full speed.

He wanted to grab Harry and get him as far away from here as possible.

That _rat_ was so close. He was _so close_!

But Harry was here.

Harry was _right here_.

In an empty corridor.

All alone.

All alone, that is, except for him… and that rat.

 _'I have to protect him. I won't fail this time! No matter what happens, I have to protect Harry.'_

That rat could have anything planned.

Harry could be walking into a trap.

Or…

Or that rat might not even know that Harry was heading straight towards him.

Snuffles didn't know what they could be walking into.

 _'Harry has to come first this time. My revenge against the rat can come later.'_

Snuffles quickly caught up to Harry, who had, in Snuffles frozen moment of panicked indecision, continued walking down the corridor with the Marauder's Map in his hand.

He still wasn't at a hundred percent – it was going to be a long time before he could even be considered partially recovered from his time in Azkaban – but Snuffles was now on high alert. He had all of his senses strained forward, listening and looking for that thrice-damned rat.

Snuffles wasn't going to let anything happen to Harry. That rat would have to go through him first.

...

According to the Marauder's Map, Peter Pettigrew was just up ahead.

Snuffles hadn't made a noise since Harry had last spoken, so the two of them were silently stalking through the corridors.

Harry slowed to a stop and pointed his wand out in front of him. Squinting a little, Harry intently stared ahead, sweeping his gaze from side to side, looking for Pettigrew. But he couldn't see anyone. In fact, he couldn't even hear footsteps.

Glancing down at the Map, Harry's gaze briefly passed over to Snuffles and he noticed that, for some reason, Snuffles was taking up a defensive position in front of him. The dog had his ears back, teeth bared, and was crouching slightly, as if he was getting ready to attack something.

When Harry turned his attention back to the Map, he saw that Pettigrew was still coming towards them. He was getting so close to them that Harry should be able to see Pettigrew any second now.

Harry pointed his wand and trained his eyes towards the spot where Pettigrew should be. But Harry still couldn't see anything.

Snuffles suddenly started growling.

Loudly.

Pettigrew had stopped moving when Snuffles started growling, but now Pettigrew was coming towards them at an even faster pace.

Snuffles' growl turned into an aggressive snarl.

According to the Map, Pettigrew was directly in front of Harry.

Snuffles suddenly stopped snarling and made a noise that sounded like he was lunging for something.

Pettigrew was quickly passing to the right of Harry, but even with his wand following the movement of where Pettigrew should be, Harry still saw nothing.

Harry heard what sounded like teeth clamping down, as if Snuffles had tried to bite something and missed.

Snuffles resumed growling.

Pettigrew was gone, continuing down the corridor and away from Harry and Snuffles.

It didn't make any sense – Harry hadn't seen anyone, an actual person or a ghost.

 _'What is going on? And what was Snuffles reacting to? I didn't see anything.'_

"What was that, Snuffles? What did you see?" Harry quietly asked.

Snuffles moved closer to Harry, but kept growling.

"Knock it off, Snuffles," Harry whispered, laying the hand that held the Map on the dog's head.

Snuffles continued growling for a moment longer, but then trailed off into silence.

Deciding to call it a night and head back to Gryffindor Tower (where he could hopefully fall asleep this time), Harry glance down at the Marauder's Map to make sure that he wouldn't be caught by a professor on his way back to bed.

Unfortunately, it appeared that luck wasn't on Harry's side tonight because the Map showed him one name that Harry really didn't want to see.

Severus Snape

And Snape was just about to turn the corner and see Harry standing in the middle of the corridor.

Without a moment to lose, Harry quickly touched his wand to the Marauder's Map and said, "Mischief managed", wiping the Map of ink and turning it into plain-looking parchment once more.

"Nox," Harry immediately killed the light coming from his wand.

Not five seconds after Harry had shoved the Map into his pocket and turned off his light, Snape appeared behind him, illuminating the hallway with his own wand.

"Potter!" Snape sneered. "What are you doing wandering the corridors at night?"

' _Well, shit_. _'_

"I was…" ' _I really don't want to draw his attention to Snuffles, but Snape's bound to notice my dog anyway. I might as well make a realistic excuse.'_ "…taking my dog on a walk. He needs to get out every once in a while," Harry said, looking straight at Snape even though the professor held his wand light directly in front of Harry's face.

"How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter. He too was exceedingly arrogant. Strutting about the castle," Snape sneered after glancing down at Snuffles before returning his gaze to Harry, glaring at the boy.

"My dad didn't strut," Harry said, highly offended. Snuffles growled lowly and Harry put his hand back on the dog's head. Thankfully, Snuffles stopped growling. He didn't want to give Snape any legitimate reason to make him get rid of Snuffles. "And nor do I. Now, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would lower your wand."

Snape glared at Harry for a moment longer and then lowered his wand slightly.

"Turn out your pockets," Snape demanded.

Harry stood still, not moving. He felt Snuffles tense up.

"Turn. Out. Your. Pockets," Snape demanded again.

Glaring, Harry removed his hand from Snuffles' head (since he was still holding his wand in his other hand) and shoved that hand in his pocket. Trying to keep a blank face, Harry regretfully withdrew the Marauder's Map and held it out in front of him.

"What's this?" Snape asked, pointing his wand at the parchment that was in Harry's hand.

"Spare bit of parchment."

"Really?" Snape said skeptically. "Open it."

Harry glanced down and unfolded a portion of the completely blank Marauder's Map.

Snape tapped his wand onto the center of the Map and said, "Reveal your secrets."

With his heart in his throat, Harry watched as ink slowly painted its way across the parchment, revealing, not only the name of the Map (which Harry had expected), but some additional writing that Harry had never seen before.

"Read it," Snape demanded.

Harry nervously licked his lips and said, "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs offer their complements to Professor Snape and…"

Harry had trailed off. If he read aloud what was written next, he was sure that Snape would put him in detention. But, oh, how Harry wanted to read what the Marauders had written. Even though Harry knew it was very likely to land him in trouble. Well, more trouble than he already was in, what with him roaming around the castle with Snuffles in the middle of the night.

"Go on," Snape said.

Harry decided to just enjoy it, for a brief moment at least, before Snape would inevitably decide to send him to detention for all of eternity. Harry glanced at the parchment to be sure of what it said and then looked up at Snape.

"And request that he keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business," Harry said unrepentantly. Snuffles made a sound that could've been a laugh or a sneeze.

"Why you insolent little –"

"Professor."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw that Snuffles had startled a bit when Professor Lupin appeared from behind Snape. Snuffles barely made a noise as he moved to press himself against the back of Harry's legs.

Snape whirled around to face Professor Lupin.

"Well, well," Snape said. "Lupin. Out for a little walk… in the moonlight, are we?"

"Harry," Professor Lupin said, ignoring what Snape had said and taking a few steps closer to Harry. "Are you alright?"

Harry nodded and moved to place a reassuring hand on Snuffles' head. Harry was pretty sure Snuffles wouldn't mind that the hand on his head was the hand that was holding Harry's wand.

"That remains to be seen," Snape said, quickly turning and snatching the Marauder's Map from Harry's hands. "I've just confiscated a rather curious artifact from Mr. Potter. Take a look, Lupin," Snape extended the parchment towards Professor Lupin. "It's supposed to be your area of expertise. Clearly it's full of dark magic."

"Oh I seriously doubt it, Severus," Professor Lupin said, staring intently at the Map. "It looks to me as though it's merely a parchment designed to insult anyone who tries to read it," Professor Lupin started to laugh as he said, "I suspect it's a Zonko's product."

Snape started to reach for the Map, but Professor Lupin quickly moved and held it out of Snape's reach.

"Nevertheless," Professor Lupin continued. "I shall investigate any hidden qualities it may possess," Professor Lupin started folding up the Map. "It is, after all, as you were saying, my area of expertise… Harry," Professor Lupin turned to look at Harry. "Would you come with me now please?"

Harry nodded, gave Snuffles a soft pat, and started walking towards Professor Lupin. After what appeared to be a moment of hesitation, Snuffles trailed along behind Harry.

"Goodnight, Severus," Professor Lupin said cordially as he fell into step next to Harry.

Together, Harry and Professor Lupin walked away from Snape and down the corridor. Snuffles was slowly following behind the two. Professor Lupin led Harry and Snuffles to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom since it was close to where they had been.

As they entered the classroom, Professor Lupin continued to walk towards the front of the room. Harry slowed his pace, mainly because he could no longer hear the clicking of Snuffles claws on the floor but also because Harry was sure that he was going to get lectured by Professor Lupin. Glancing over his shoulder, Harry saw that Snuffles had stopped just inside of the classroom door.

Looking forward, Harry saw that Professor Lupin had stopped just in front of his desk and had turned to face Harry. So Harry stopped as well and ended up a few paces away from where the professor stood.

"Now I haven't the faintest idea, Harry, how this map came to be in your possession. And quite frankly, I am _astounded_ that you didn't hand it in!" Professor Lupin sounded disappointed and angry at the same time as he walked forward a few steps to get closer to Harry. "Didn't it ever occur to you that this," Professor Lupin shook the Marauder's Map a bit to emphasize his point, "in the hands of Sirius Black is a map to you?"

Harry shook his head slightly and whispered, "No sir."

The thought of Sirius Black finding and using the Marauder's Map hadn't even occurred to Harry.

"You know your father never held the rules in high regard either, but he and your mother gave their lives to save yours," Professor Lupin sounded furious and now he was almost yelling at Harry. "And gambling their sacrifice by wandering around the castle _unprotected_ with a killer on the loose seems to be a pretty poor way to repay them," Professor Lupin paused for a moment, before continuing in a softer tone. "I will not cover up for you again, Harry. Do you hear me?"

"Yes sir," Harry whispered, shuffling his feet a little.

"I want you to return to your dormitory and _stay there_. And don't take any detours on your way there. If you do," Lupin tapped the Map. "I shall know."

Harry nodded and started walking back towards the door before a thought occurred to him.

Stopping and turning around to face Professor Lupin once again, Harry said, "Professor, just so you know, I don't think that map always works. Earlier on, it showed someone in the castle – someone I know to be dead."

"Oh really? Who might that be?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"That's… not possible," Professor Lupin said, his eyes going wide as his voice shook a bit.

"It's just what I saw," Harry said with a slight shrug. He thought that the way Professor Lupin was acting about him seeing Pettigrew on the Map was odd, but not that shocking. After all, Harry just said that he'd seen Pettigrew's name and that man was dead.

"Goodnight professor," Harry said, turning back around and looking at his dog. Snuffles' gaze was strangely solemn as the dog stared at where Professor Lupin was still standing.

Harry called Snuffles to his side and walked out of the room, leaving Professor Lupin behind.

...

Harry knew he could be stubborn.

He also knew that Ron could be stubborn… and Hermione could be stubborn.

Harry figured that the three of them were all trying to out stubborn each other. Ron was probably waiting for Hermione to approach him. Hermione was probably waiting for Ron to approach her. And Harry knew that he was just waiting for Ron or Hermione to approach the other.

Harry just wanted things to go back to the way they were – when all three of them could talk without it turning into a fight or without Ron or Hermione avoiding each other.

Thankfully, Harry had had a little outside assistance with getting Ron to agree to talk to Hermione.

One afternoon, Harry had received an invitation to visit Hagrid for some tea, so Harry had asked Ron if he wanted to come along. And that meant that Harry couldn't invite Hermione as well because Ron was avoiding Hermione.

When the two boys (and Snuffles) arrived and were seated at the table in Hagrid's hut, Hagrid brought up the subject of them shunning Hermione.

Although Harry had been upset with Hermione for the whole broom incident, he had mostly gotten over it after Professor McGonagall returned his Firebolt. But in a show of support towards Ron (and because Harry was more sympathetic to Ron's side of the issue), Harry had been mostly hanging out with Ron. And since Ron has been actively avoiding Hermione, Harry was also kind of avoiding Hermione as well.

Hagrid told them that Hermione has been heartsick over the loss of their friendship.

"I thought that you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats," Hagrid had said near the end of their visit, just before Harry and Ron left to return to the castle before dark.

So, about two days after their visit with Hagrid, Harry had finally managed to convince Ron to go over to Hermione when all three of them happened to be in the Common Room one evening.

As Harry guided Ron over to the couch that Hermione was sitting on, he noticed that Snuffles was already curled up with Crookshanks at Hermione's feet.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry greeted.

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading, tentatively smiling at Harry before sending a wary glance at Ron.

Ron, looking uncomfortable, cleared his throat and also said, "Hey… Hermione."

Hermione opened her mouth as if she was about to say something and then closed it. She shut her book and placed it on her lap.

"Ron, I… I'm sorry. I mean, I'd like to apologize for… for Scabber's dea-… for what Crookshanks did to Scabbers," Hermione said somewhat uncertainly.

"Yeah, well, I guess I also need to apologize," Ron said reluctantly. "To you, that is. I'm sorry for… overreacting like I did. It wasn't you who did it, but I still blamed you. And I'm sorry for that."

"So… can we go back to talking to each other now?" Hermione asked hopefully. "Because I really missed you guys."

"We missed you too, Hermione," Harry assured. Ron nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean, who else is going to nag us into doing our homework?" Ron asked teasingly.

"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed in mock offense before her lips twitched.

"So does this mean I can get my dog back?" Harry asked.

"Huh?" Ron looked confused.

"Hermione's been stealing Snuffles," Harry accused, looking amused when Snuffles seemed to shoot him a glare from his position at Hermione's feet.

"It's not my fault that Snuffles has apparently decided that I'm better company," Hermione could barely keep a straight face as she said that.

Harry couldn't help it. He started laughing – mainly in relief that he, Ron, and Hermione were all talking together once again.

Ron and Hermione were quick to join in on the laughter.

Snuffles snorted at the three of them before resting his head back down on his paws.

It looked like things were finally taking a turn for the better.

...

Elizabeth Lewis was happy with her lot in life.

She had supportive parents, an amazing fiancé, and a great job.

But, just because she had a great job, that didn't mean that it wasn't a hard job to do. Don't get her wrong – she loved working as Madam Bones' assistant. Madam Bones was a hard woman, yes, but she had always treated Elizabeth with kindness.

Elizabeth never gave Madam Bones a reason to be disappointed with her or her work. Elizabeth always put her best effort forward, and even when she made a mistake or someone else made an error that she had to fix, Madam Bones was understanding and gave her the chance to correct what was wrong.

But this…

This was not going to be an easy fix.

This was, to put it lightly, a complete and utter disaster in the making.

If anything about this were to get out, and it would – things of this magnitude always do (and there was absolutely no way that this wouldn't get out because it has to be made public), the consequences alone could completely destroy the reputation of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well as a lot of the other departments in the Ministry – even though this whole thing occurred years ago.

Elizabeth wasn't a person who usually cursed. In fact, as a personal preference, she generally avoided being around people who cursed a lot. It wasn't anything against them, it was just that that type of language made her uncomfortable.

But this…

This deserved a curse word or two because what she had just found out was a… a tragedy! It was a miscarriage of justice that was about to become a public relations nightmare and a media circus.

Maybe she should've taken a sick day… or a sick week. Maybe taking a month off wouldn't've been a bad idea.

It had taken her a couple of weeks to put it all together, mainly because of bureaucratic posturing, misfiling, and red tape, but she had found all of the paperwork the led to Sirius Black being thrown in Azkaban Prison.

And what did she find?

One sheet of parchment.

That's it. That was all she could find.

One measly sheet of parchment.

After sending memos and requests, personally speaking to various department heads, hounding Aurors and office workers alike, and searching through just about every file and folder in the entire Ministry herself (being the personal assistant to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement gave her some surprisingly high clearance), the only thing that Elizabeth could find about Sirius Black being sent to Azkaban was a short request form that took up less than half of a sheet of parchment. And it was a request for an Azkaban prisoner's uniform for Sirius Black.

Clothes.

That's all she could find about Sirius Black and Azkaban.

A request for clothes.

No trial record.

No transcripts.

Not even the paperwork detailing the arrest of Sirius Black.

Nothing.

And just in case some type of catastrophe occurred and somehow managed to destroy just about anything related to Sirius Black's stay in Azkaban, Elizabeth went to the media – but not to inform them about this, no, most definitely not! She went to do some more research.

On one of her days off, she enlisted her fiancé's help and together they went to various media headquarters throughout the country to look through all of the old issues around the time that Sirius Black would've been thrown in Azkaban.

Madam Bones had delegated the task of finding Sirius Black's missing court transcripts to her and Elizabeth was nothing if not thorough.

So, she and her fiancé spent an entire day searching through dusty archives. The results of their search were highly discouraging.

No mention of a trial for Sirius Black in any issue of the Daily Prophet.

Nor in Witch Weekly.

Nor in Global Galleons.

Nor in any of the other news-type outlets – hard news and gossip rags.

They even checked the Quibbler.

Nothing.

They found absolutely nothing.

Not even a single sentence mentioning an upcoming trial or the outcome of a trial for Sirius Black. Just general statements about Black's arrest and how he betrayed the Potters.

Black's trial would've been very heavily covered by reporters and followed by the public.

To find nothing about Black's trial in any newspaper or magazine…

From what she could find, the only logical conclusion that Elizabeth could come up with for why Sirius Black's trial transcripts couldn't be found was that Sirius Black never received a trial in the first place.

"This is fucking ridiculous!" Elizabeth exclaimed, throwing an old issue of Casters' Corner on the ground.

"Woah! Lizzy! Did my ears deceive me or did you just say 'fucking'?" Gregory asked slightly incredulous and more than a little worried. "In all the years I've known you, I don't think I've ever heard you say fuck."

Gregory put down the stack of papers that he had been levitating onto the table in the middle of the room and then wrapped his arms around Elizabeth's waist, pulling her into a hug.

"And I would know," Gregory continued in a teasing tone. "After all, it's such a rare occurrence to hear you curse – I make it a point to keep a record. I think you're up to five 'damns', two 'piss offs', four 'arses', and one very creative usage of a 'rat-arsed-twat-bastard' – which I supposed could go into the 'arse' category, but…"

"Greg!" Elizabeth groaned before hugging Gregory back and tucking her face in the crook of his neck.

"What's got you all worked up?" Gregory asked. "I thought you told me that searching for any mention of Black's trial was going to be a new twist to our Saturday date night. If I recall correctly, I think you sold this idea to me as a historical scavenger hunt. But don't think that I didn't realize that this 'hunt' was more important to you than you were letting on. What's going on, Lizzy?"

"Classified," was the muffled response from Elizabeth.

"Classified?"

"Mm hmm," Elizabeth nodded her head miserably. "Classified."

"Can you talk around the issue?" Gregory hesitantly asked. "Maybe talking about it, even vaguely, would help. And I know that this has something to do with Sirius Black's trial since that's what we're searching for – so it's not like I'm entirely clueless here."

"I know," Elizabeth said, pulling her head back to look at her fiancé. "It's just that this whole situation is so many levels of messed up. I mean, technically it's not classified yet, so I can tell you about it, but I've been working for Madam Bones for so long that I know how she's going to react. And when I tell her about what I've found, she's going to 'classify' it to the highest of security levels until she and some of the other higher ups, like probably the Minister of Magic himself, can find a good way to deal with this mess."

"So… Since it's technically not classified yet…" Gregory wheedled.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes with a tired smile and, since they were alone in the room, pulled out her wand. After putting up a few high-level privacy and silencing wards, Elizabeth began explaining the situation.

"So, this all began when a man came into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement looking for the transcripts from Sirius Black's court trail…"

Elizabeth took a good twenty minutes to outline everything that she went through, first looking for the transcripts and then systematically searching just about every department in the Ministry for any evidence or report related to Sirius Black's trial.

"And since the only thing I could find was a request for prison garbs, I thought I might as well look through old magazines and newspapers. Because if Black did receive a trial, then at least one media outlet would've reported on it. And, well, since I knew it'd take me a while and it'd have to be on one of my days off – because looking for Black's transcripts is just one of the many responsibilities I've been tasked with doing for Madam Bones – I thought that maybe it'd be a fun idea for a date," Elizabeth grimaced slightly, "Well, maybe not fun, but if I was going to have to spend the day searching through dusty, old archives, then at least I could drag you down with me. One of the perks of asking for my hand in marriage, yeah?" Elizabeth bumped her shoulder against Gregory's arm, "But now that I've told you, well, practically everything, you can't tell anyone or else I could very likely be fired. Especially if this gets out before my boss can find a way to deal with this."

"Hey, research comes with my job description, so searching through old archives is something I'm used to," Gregory said lightly. "And, as a lawyer, my secrets tend to have secrets, so my lips are sealed. No one will hear about this from me."

"I know," Elizabeth smiled. "I trust you."

Gregory smiled back at her.

"So, do you really think that Black didn't –"

"Receive a trial?" Elizabeth interrupted, guessing what Gregory was going to say. "Yeah. I mean, I've searched through everything that I could get my hands on these past few weeks. I've left no stone unturned, no corner unchecked, no file unopened. I couldn't looked through everything, because there are some files and places that are above my clearance level, but… I'm pretty certain that Sirius Black was thrown into Azkaban without a trial."

"You do know that there will be some pretty severe backlash and there will very likely be public outcry when news of Black not being tried at all gets out," Gregory commented.

"Yeah," Elizabeth agreed. "Just think – what if Black actually was – is – innocent? What if we, the Ministry, the public, condemned an innocent man to spending just about… twelve years?" Elizabeth looked upwards as she tried to remember the correct number of years that Sirius Black was locked away. "Yeah, we condemned Black to Azkaban for twelve years just because 'everyone knew he did it' but no one thought to check to be sure?"

"Well, it was pretty chaotic back then," Gregory said, not excusing what happened, but just stating a well-known fact about the times immediately following the fall of You-Know-Who.

"I know, but how do you think the Ministry is going to respond to this? Are they going to try to keep finding Black without the Dementors? Send him an owl, asking him to come in? Are they going to send out a statement to the press or something?" Elizabeth asked, somewhat rhetorically. "Like, 'Hey, you know how everybody knows that Black was guilty and thrown in Azkaban. Well, surprise! He never actually received a trial so he might be innocent. Oops – our bad?' Yeah, like that would go over well."

"I think that the most logical course of action for the Ministry to take would be to send some type of statement to the press," Gregory said. "They'll pretty much have to. It'd be in their best interest if they sent something out before the public finds out about Black's lack of trial on their own. The press will have a field day over this – Black being sent to Azkaban for years without a trial."

"Being stuck in Azkaban," Elizabeth shuddered, "some people have been reported to go insane within just months of being held in that place and Black was in there for over a decade. It's horrible."

"It is horrible. And I'm not just thinking morally," Gregory said darkly. "Black being thrown in Azkaban without a trial has the potential to set a dangerous precedent."

"Precedent?"

"Black is, or was, the heir to the House of Black, right? Well, throwing Sirius Black in prison without a trial could, legally speaking, cause an increase in other heirs being sent to Azkaban without a trial as well – based on solely on circumstantial evidence – which is what happened with Black. If this isn't handled with extreme care, Lords and Ladies, in fear of what happened to Black happening to their own heirs, could rise up against the Ministry."

"Are you talking about there being… what, some kind of riot in the streets? Or an uprising – like… like a rebellion?" Elizabeth practically squeaked out that last word.

"Well, it would be a very extreme reaction, but I'd say that the potential could be there. Very unlikely, but it could happen. Who knows? They might just call for someone's resignation or not do anything at all."

"Merlin," Elizabeth breathed.

"Yeah," Gregory softly said. "But if the Ministry handles this correctly, then it'll probably be a media-craze for a few months. After that, most people will… well, maybe not forget about it, but they'll start to view it as something that's mostly unimportant or irrelevant. It didn't happen to them, so why should it matter to them?"

"Well, I have until Monday to figure out how to tell Madam Bones about," Elizabeth gestured to the entire room, "all of this – about this whole messed up situation with Black. Hopefully it doesn't end in disaster."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

...

It was the very opposite of fine.

The first thing that Elizabeth did when she came to work on Monday morning was to immediately inform Madam Bones about her findings in the privacy of Madam Bones' office. Madam Bones had Elizabeth recount everything she could remember doing, every detail of her investigation, twice.

After about an hour of going over everything that Elizabeth had found, or rather, hadn't found, Madam Bones told Elizabeth to cancel all of her appointments for the day and to make sure that she wasn't disturbed for any reason. Elizabeth was also told that she needed to keep her silence on the subject of Sirius Black's nonexistent trial, at least until Madam Bones could consult with some other higher ups to figure out how to efficiently handle this problem.

It was just after Elizabeth was returning from her brief lunch break when she was summoned to Madam Bones' office – where Madam Bones, Minister Fudge, and two other wizards that Elizabeth didn't recognize were waiting for her.

All four of them were seated at the small conference table that Madam Bones had tucked away in the far right corner of her office. And all four of them were seated together on the same side.

"Please have a seat, Ms. Lewis," one of the unidentified wizards said.

Feeling very much like she was facing a firing squad, Elizabeth tentatively sat down in the seat that was directly across from Madam Bones.

"Ms. Lewis, you are the one who gathered all of the evidence that points to Sirius Black not receiving a trial, correct?" the same unknown wizard asked. He was a brunet, so Elizabeth decided to mentally refer to him as Mr. Brown.

"Yes, that's right," Ms. Lewis answered.

"And why did you start investigating this matter in the first place?" Mr. Brown asked.

Glancing at Madam Bones, who nodded at Elizabeth with her lips pressed together in a firm line, Elizabeth started recalling the circumstances that led her to where she was. She told them about Mr. Lupin's visit, about Madam Bones asking her to look into the supposed missing transcripts, about her systematic hunt through the Ministry, and finally about her search through the archives of major news media outlets – leaving out her fiancé's part in helping her. She didn't want to get Gregory involved in this any further than he already was.

"While we don't doubt your work, Ms. Lewis, we will be opening an official and silent investigation into this matter that will be led by a team of professionals," the other unidentified wizard spoke up this time. He had white-ish grey hair, so Elizabeth was going to mentally call him Mr. Grey. "During this period of investigation, it is imperative that any knowledge about the ongoing investigation does not make its way to the public. Therefore, we need certain assurance that this information will not reach the public, or anyone else, from you."

"Oh, well, of course –"

Elizabeth was cut off by the sound of a something heavy thumping on the table. It was a rather large folder full of papers – all of which, Mr. Grey informed her, required Elizabeth to thoroughly read through and then sign.

Elizabeth flipped the folder open and took a moment to shuffle through all of the papers.

Confidentiality contracts.

Liability contracts.

A bunch of confidentiality and liability contracts.

Why were there so many?

Looking at the titles of the documents, Elizabeth reasoned it was likely that there was one contract for each Ministry department that she went to and for each person within the Ministry that she talked to about finding information about Sirius Black.

Briefly skimming a few of the contracts, Elizabeth noticed a few phrases that stood out. The gist of most of the contracts could be summed up as: if Elizabeth should talk about Black not getting a trial before being thrown in Azkaban, then she will be immediately fired, blacklisted, fined, and potentially have to serve about a month or two in the Ministry's holding cells. And Elizabeth was sure that there were other threats and punishments speckled throughout the contracts.

So all of the papers would require a very thorough read.

And there were probably close to a hundred papers in the folder.

Oh, and looking at the last sheet of parchment in the folder, apparently she'd have to swear a vow to not breathe a word about this investigation until the investigation was over.

Awesome.

As Elizabeth grabbed the first confidentiality contract, Madam Bones turned to address the two wizards who Elizabeth realized were most likely lawyers that the Ministry, or just the Minister, had on retainer. Elizabeth thought that it was kind of odd that they hadn't introduced themselves to her, but, then again, she was pretty sure that they had other things on their mind.

"Is all this really necessary? When Ms. Lewis was first hired to be my assistant, she signed a non-disclosure agreement and beyond that, I trust Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones said. Elizabeth knew Madame Bones well enough to tell that she wasn't really protesting these contracts (well, maybe the number of contracts because, _Merlin_ , excessive much? Elizabeth's wrist was already aching just thinking about having to sign all of these), Madam Bones was just showing her displeasure that the Minister was interfering in DMLE business. "She has never let me down before when she had to be informed of classified matters. Ms. Lewis was the one who gathered all the evidence in the first place and she had been able to keep quiet about it all this time. I can understand the need for discretion in this instance, but –"

"Madam Bones," Minister Fudge interrupted, looking rather red in the face. "While Ms. Lewis may be trustworthy, I'm afraid I can't risk anything getting out on your word alone. Think of how the public would react. No! No! I'm afraid that I really can't risk it."

"You can rest assured, Ms. Lewis," Mr. Brown said once the Minister had finished speaking. "Every member of the investigation team that has been put together must also sign these contracts and swear a secrecy vow. This is all just a precaution. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes," Elizabeth almost sighed in resignation. She knew that all of these contracts were probably a bit over excessive, but mostly necessary. "Yes, I understand."

Unfortunately, with all the trouble that the Minister was going to in order to keep all of this quiet, Elizabeth was pretty sure that this meant that Mr. Lupin would be waiting a while for the news about Sirius Black's transcripts… or lack thereof.

...

There were only a few minutes left before it was time for Harry to go up into the Divination classroom to take his final exam, but standing outside of the classroom was reminding Harry about Hermione's dramatic exit from the class a few days prior.

It had been completely unexpected.

Well, maybe not completely unexpected, but it was definitely surprising.

And maybe not that surprising either since just that morning, Hermione had missed Charms – which was very unusual for her. So, immediately after Charms, Harry and Ron went to go look for her. Luckily Hermione was in the first place they looked: Gryffindor Common Room.

When they walked in the room, Snuffles padded right up to Hermione. She had fallen asleep with her head resting on an open book and some parchment at one of the tables.

Ron called her name as he and Harry got closer. When Hermione lifted her head off of the table, there was a piece of parchment that was stuck to her cheek. Hermione brushed it off and looked at Harry and Ron in confusion for a moment – and in that moment, Harry could see that she was clearly exhausted.

After a few blinks, Hermione looked towards one of the windows and saw that the sun was already well into the sky. Then she started frantically shoving her books and papers into her bag.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh _no!_ Don't tell me that I missed class!" Hermione looked close to tears. "What class did I miss? I don't – was it… what was it? What was the class?!"

"Charms," Ron said, looking concerned.

"We made sure to take some good notes for you," Harry said. "And we were mainly reviewing, so you didn't really miss anything."

"I have to – I have to go to the library and finish this –" Hermione was shouldering her bag when Ron interrupted her.

"It's just about lunch time, Hermione," Ron said. "Why don't we go get something to eat? Yeah?"

"No. No, I'm sorry, but I just don't have the time!" Hermione exclaimed, rubbing her hands over her face as if she was trying to wipe away the sleep from her eyes. "I have to finish reviewing three chapters of Ancient Runes and finish the essay for Potions and for Muggle Studies!"

"Come on, Hermione, why don't you take a short break to eat some lunch? Just fifteen minutes to eat something?" Harry suggested, smiling a bit when he saw that Snuffles appeared to be trying to herd Hermione towards the two boys.

Hermione looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Food," Harry clarified. "It'll give you energy and help you think better."

"I don't –" Hermione started to say.

"You have time," Ron said, tossing an arm around her shoulders and physically guiding her out of the Common Room. "Everyone has time for food."

"Ron's right," Harry said, tossing his arm over Ron's arm and Hermione's shoulders once they left the Common Room and started walking down the corridors towards the Great Hall. "Which is surprising, I know."

"Oi!" Ron exclaimed, more amused than offended.

When they arrived in the Great Hall, Harry and Ron managed to get Hermione to sit down and eat for about twenty minutes before she ran off to the library to finish some work before their next class.

The next time that Harry saw Hermione was when she came into the Divinations classroom after the class had already started.

Professor Trelawney had everyone gazing into crystal balls, but when Hermione arrived, Trelawney started making some misty comments about her predictions for their final exams – which appeared to annoy Hermione. But what apparently set Hermione off was when Trelawney came over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione's table, gazed at Harry's crystal ball, and declared that she saw yet another Grim.

"Not that ridiculous Grim again!" Hermione exclaimed in a huff before gathering her things and leaving the classroom.

Harry and the rest of the class were left to stare after her in astonishment.

Shaking away his stray thoughts and taking a deep breath, Harry tried to focus on preparing himself for his Divination final exam which would take place any moment now. He just had to wait for the person in front of him to finish with their exam.

After Gryffindor's Quidditch victory against Slytherin (which had resulted in an amazing celebratory party in the Gryffindor Common Room), Harry had been hard at work preparing for the upcoming final exams. So Harry felt that he was as prepared for his Divination exam as he could be.

The Potions exam had been exceedingly difficult.

Charms and Transfiguration were difficult, but Harry was pretty sure that he managed to ace them.

His History exam was probably a lost cause and the Care of Magical Creatures was easy.

But Harry excelled in his Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. In that exam, he had to combat several of the creatures that Professor Lupin had them study over the course of the term. If he had to pick a favorite exam, then the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam was most definitely his favorite.

The sound of someone coming down from the classroom pulled Harry from his musings. It was finally time for his Divinations exam.

As Harry made it into the classroom, Professor Trelawney directed him to sit at a table and find signs of the future inside a crystal ball. So Harry sat down in front of the crystal ball and stared at it, thinking of a few signs that he could make up that would seem plausible – because he knew he wouldn't be getting through this exam without some creative and fictitious tales. And the more morbid he made them, the more Trelawney seem to like it.

When he was in the middle of dutifully fictionalizing what he was seeing in the crystal ball, Professor Trelawney suddenly spoke up.

With her eyes looking hypnotized and her voice sounding different, deeper and raspy, Professor Trelawney said,

 _"It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight… the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight… before midnight… the servant… will set out… to rejoin… his master…"_

Harry sat still, shocked at what had just happened and not quite sure how to react. Meanwhile Professor Trelawney blinked a few times, cleared her throat, and then looked around the classroom before refocusing on Harry.

"I'm sorry," Professor Trelawney said. "Did you say something, dear?"

"Why did you just say that?" Harry asked.

"Say what, dear?" Professor Trelawney asked.

"About the… about Voldemort. You said something about a servant rejoining him tonight," Harry said.

"No, I don't recall saying anything like that," Professor Trelawney said, sounding confused.

"But you just –"

But Professor Trelawney wouldn't hear of it – she didn't remember anything about making that prediction.

Eager to leave and tell Ron about what had happened (but not Hermione because after how she had last acted in Divination, she probably wouldn't be the best person to talk to about this), Harry dashed out of the classroom.

Snuffles was waiting for Harry at the bottom of the ladder, so when Harry jogged away from the classroom and down the corridor, Snuffles was hot on his heels.

Figuring that Ron was either outside enjoying the weather or in the Common Room, Harry decided to check outside first. As he rounded a corner, Harry almost ran into Professor Lupin.

"Sorry, Professor!" Harry said as he paused for a moment to apologize. Snuffles hadn't stopped, in fact, the dog was already halfway down the corridor. Harry would have to run to catch up to him.

"Harry," Professor Lupin said, bring Harry's attention back to the man that he had almost collided with. "I needed to speak to you about something. Are you finished with your exams?"

"Well, yes, but –" Harry saw that Snuffles had stopped and was waiting for him at the far end of the corridor, almost out of sight.

"I'm afraid that this is rather important, Harry," Professor Lupin insisted. "Why don't we go to my office to have this discussion?"

"Okay, yeah," Harry agreed. He could tell Ron about what Trelawney had said after he was done with whatever Professor Lupin wanted to talk about. Harry was sure that whatever the professor had to say would only take a few minutes. "I could meet you in your office. I think Snuffles wants to go outside, so I can take him down to the grounds really quick and then come back up."

"Actually, Harry, why don't you bring Snuffles with you," Professor Lupin suggested.

"Uhh… Alright," Harry said before raising his voice so that Snuffles would hear him at the end of the corridor. "Snuffles! Come here boy!"

Snuffles appeared to dither at the end of the corridor before he slowly, very slowly, walked back down the hall towards Harry with his ears down and his tail between his legs.

Well, that was weird behavior from Snuffles. Harry had never seen the dog seem reluctant to come to Harry's side whenever Harry called for him. Usually Snuffles was enthusiastic in coming to Harry's side.

"So, can I ask you why you want my dog to join us? I mean, it's just Snuffles," Harry asked, curious about what the professor was up to.

"What I have to say concerns your dog just as much as it concerns you," Professor Lupin said solemnly.

It appeared that Snuffles had heard what Professor Lupin said because the dog stopped walking towards them and tensed up as if he was preparing to turn tail and run.

"Come on, Snuffles," Harry encouraged, a little stymied about why his dog was acting this way.

Snuffles shook himself and, contrary to his earlier behavior, took quick steps to make it to Harry's side. Once Snuffles was back at Harry's side, Professor Lupin took the lead and led Harry and Snuffles through the corridors and to his office.

Snuffles stayed steadfastly by Harry's side and continually brushed up against Harry's legs.

Professor Lupin opened the door to his office and ushered Harry and Snuffles into the room before shutting the door behind them. Harry took a seat in one of the chairs that was in front of Professor Lupin's desk. Snuffles took a cautious look around the room as he sat down to the right of Harry and rested his head on Harry's right leg.

Seeing that Snuffles seemed nervous for some reason, Harry started petting Snuffles in what he hoped was a comforting manner. It didn't seem to be working because Snuffles remained tense.

Professor Lupin was just off to the left of Harry, leaning against his desk. For a moment or two, Professor Lupin seemed to be considering something as he observed Harry and Snuffles.

"Professor?" Harry prompted, wondering what could be so important that Professor Lupin had to speak to him now and how it would concern Snuffles.

"Tell me, Harry," Professor Lupin said, folding his arms across his chest and looking directly at Harry. "What do you know about Sirius Black?"

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Alright! We're getting so close to the end of this! Get excited!

Also, I have some news – previously I mentioned that I'd be moving sometime soon and now I have a date! So, I'll be driving across the country at the end of April/beginning of May. And I'll be turning it into a fun road trip type of adventure rather than it just be me driving for 12 hour straight day in and day out until I reach my destination…. Which means that I'll be extending my drive from about 4 days to a little over a week. And that means I'll likely be too exhausted (from driving for hours and exploring the area) to write much.

So what does this mean for you? – Well, it means that my next update will probably be in a month, rather than in two weeks because I have to finish packing all of my stuff this week, start driving the week after and most of the week after that… and then I'll have to move into my new place, get settled, and find a job. So my updates are in the air as of right now. But no matter what, I want you to know that I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS! Alright? Don't worry. I might just be inactive for a month or so. I already have everything for the end of this story already planned out – all I have to do is flesh out my outline and fill in some of the finer details. And who knows? Maybe an update will come sooner than expected.

And I always appreciate any comments/reviews you leave!


	11. Shattered and Betrayed

**Chapter Eleven:** ** _Shattered and Betrayed_**

...

Although her smile was feeling a little fragile, let it not be said that Elizabeth Lewis couldn't maintain a professional façade in the workplace.

She could act like nothing was wrong.

She could act like she knew nothing about Sirius Black not getting a trial.

She could act like she knew nothing about how, apparently, Black's lack of trial was being covered up.

Yes, Elizabeth knew how she was expected to act – she was supposed to be the perfect assistant who didn't really know much of anything, especially anything related to Sirius Black.

That didn't mean that she had to like it.

Although it wasn't Madam Bones' fault, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed by what Madam Bones was doing.

Or rather, what Madam Bones _wasn't_ doing.

Elizabeth had always thought that Madam Bones was a paragon of justice, that she would abide by the rules and do what was right, no matter what the consequences were. But Madam Bones was sitting idly by, knowing that Sirius Black hadn't received a trial and that he could be innocent, while Black was being vilified and made out to be a deranged psycho-killer by the press and Ministry personnel.

And maybe Black really was the villain that almost everyone was making him out to be.

But maybe he wasn't.

They couldn't truthfully know until Sirius Black received the trial that was denied to him.

And that uncertainty made all the difference. Without a trial, how could they possibly condemn Black?

But it was likely that Black wouldn't live long enough to receive a trial since the Aurors had been given approval to use lethal force to apprehend Black. To make matters worse, the Dementors had been ordered to kiss Black on sight.

Madam Bones knew all of this and yet she wasn't doing anything.

Yes, Elizabeth knew that it was likely that Madam Bones had some form of confidentiality contract or vow or something hanging over her head, but Elizabeth was pretty sure that if she wanted to, Madam Bones could find a way to work around that and see justice done.

By doing nothing, Madam Bones was helping to condemn a potentially innocent man to death.

Elizabeth wasn't angry with Madam Bones.

No, Elizabeth was disappointed.

She was disappointed in Madam Bones for doing nothing – for letting the Minister and his lackeys cover this whole thing up, but Elizabeth was mainly disappointed in herself.

Maybe if she had just gone to the press first…

Elizabeth would've been fired quicker than you could say "snitch", but the truth of Black's lack of trial would be out there. The likely outrage from the press and the public over Black being thrown in Azkaban without a trial would've forced the Minister's hand – he would've been forced to give Black the trial that he had deserved in the first place.

But Elizabeth had decided to put her trust in the system - she put her trust in Madam Bones. She had trusted that the right thing would be done, that the mistake would be acknowledge, that Sirius Black would no longer be pursued with lethal force and instead be called in for questioning, for a trial.

Maybe a career in the Ministry wasn't the right job for Elizabeth. Clearly she was too naïve, too _trusting_.

She had _trusted_ Madam Bones to help her – to do the right thing.

And look where that had gotten her.

She'd been slapped with an overabundance of confidentiality contracts, nondisclosure agreements, and secrecy vows whilst people in positions of authority twiddled their thumbs and waited for Black to be hunted down like an animal and killed.

Elizabeth was seriously considering switching careers.

As she sat at her desk, Elizabeth was finishing up filing the last few pieces of paperwork dealing with the illegal potions trade ring that had been caught and disbanded last week when Madam Bones took a few steps out of her office and towards Elizabeth's desk.

She looked up at Madam Bones and the smile that Elizabeth had plastered on her face started to hurt a bit.

"Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones addressed her. "If I could see you in my office for a few minutes. There appears to be some misinformation about one of the bounty hunters that this department is keeping an eye on."

"Of course, Madam Bones," Elizabeth said a little frigidly. Madam Bones nodded at Elizabeth and swept back into her office, leaving the door open behind her.

Figuring Madam Bones wanted some clarification on Solomon Swaurts, the latest bounty hunter with some very questionable morals that one of their Aurors recently stumbled across, Elizabeth shuffled through the most recent case files that were in one of her desk drawers and pulled out the correct file that contained the report filed by Auror Gibbs about his encounter with Swaurts.

With the file in hand, Elizabeth stood from her desk and made her way into Madam Bones office.

"If you would shut the door, please," Madam Bones said from her seat behind her desk once Elizabeth crossed the threshold.

Elizabeth's fake smile turned into something closer to a grimace as she closed the door with one hand.

She used to look forward to working with Madam Bones on a daily basis, but since Elizabeth discovered Sirius Black's lack of trial and Madam Bones' unwillingness to act, she kind of dreaded having to interact with Madam Bones. Mainly because Elizabeth was afraid she'd accidently say something biting towards Madam Bones about the whole thing and get fired over the angry words she said. She had self-control, but sometimes certain things really tried her patience.

"I have the report that Auror Gibbs –"

"Ms. Lewis, I have a question for you regarding the Sirius Black case," Madam Bones interrupted, resting her elbows on her desk and lacing her fingers together in front of her mouth.

Elizabeth pursed her lips and looked over Madam Bones' left shoulder so she wouldn't end up glaring at Madam Bones.

Apparently Madam Bones wanting information on the bounty hunter was just a ruse to get Elizabeth into the office. That was fine – Elizabeth wouldn't let her emotions, her thoughts, about the Sirius Black case cloud her judgement. Elizabeth worked for Madam Bones, so she would be professional about whatever question Madam Bones wanted to ask.

Madam Bones observed Elizabeth for a moment or two. Then she sighed as she leaned back in her chair, unlacing her fingers and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ms. Lewis, I can tell that you're angry with me for –"

"I'm not angry with you, Madam Bones" Elizabeth quietly insisted.

Although Elizabeth didn't particularly like her job at the moment, that didn't mean that she wanted to lose it. And being angry with her boss sounded like a guaranteed way to get fired or demoted. Elizabeth was also hesitant to speak her mind about her feelings on the subject of Sirius Black; even though, logically, she knew that once the door to Madam Bones' office was shut, silencing wards automatically went up (and only Elizabeth could hear Madam Bones call out from her office since, as Madam Bones' personal assistant, Elizabeth was tied into the wards surrounding Madam Bones' office).

"Ms. Lewis… Elizabeth," Madam Bones said as Elizabeth's eyes widen in shock and she turned slightly to look directly at Madam Bones. In all the time that Elizabeth had worked for her, Madam Bones had never called Elizabeth by her first name. "You've been working for me for a few years now. And I can tell that you're not entirely happy with me at the moment."

"Really, Madam Bones, I'm not angry. I'm just… frustrated with the situation," Elizabeth said cautiously. "And… maybe a little disappointed."

"I understand," Madam Bones said, matter-of-factly as she sat upright in her chair and squared her shoulders. "I am too."

Elizabeth furrowed her brow in confusion as she slowly sat down in one of the chairs that was in front of Madam Bones' desk. She wasn't quite sure what Madam Bones was trying to get at.

"I am deeply trouble by the way that Sirius Black was incarcerated, but I am more troubled, worried even, by the way that Minister Fudge is attempting to cover this whole situation up," Madam Bones stated. "Although Minister Fudge assured me that he would assign a competent legal team to get to the bottom of this, I've been… discretely looking into what Minister Fudge has been doing."

Elizabeth was trying to hold down that little bit of hope that was trying to make its way forward – that little bit of hope that was telling her that maybe her faith in Madam Bones hadn't been misplaced after all.

"It appears that the Minister is using all of his power to make sure that any information about Sirius Black not receiving a trial never reaches the light of day. In fact, he's just deployed about a hundred additional Dementors to patrol around the last place that Black was seen, which is Hogwarts, with the orders to kiss Black and anyone who gets in the way."

Elizabeth couldn't stop the shocked gasp from escaping her.

"But that many Dementors being in such close proximity to the children…" Elizabeth trailed off.

"Yes," Madam Bones grimaced in agreement. "With that many Dementors in the area, they'll be extremely hard to control. It's very likely that there will soon be casualties."

"So what –"

"But that's not why I called you in here," Madam Bones interrupted. "I'll find a way to deal with the Dementors, don't you worry."

"Then why did you want to see me?" Elizabeth asked, confused.

"Concerning the case of Sirius Black, officially, my hands are tied," Madam Bones said. "Under the order of Minister Fudge, I was required to make a magically binding vow to not release any information about Sirius Black's lack of trial to anyone. And the vow I had to make was considerably more airtight than the numerous contracts you had to sign and the vow you had to make. Just talking about this subject with you is skirting the edge of the stipulations of my vow which is giving me a headache," As Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, Madam Bones held up her hand, "It's nothing I can't handle. It's just the vow warning me that I'm getting close to breaking some of the conditions."

"Officially, I can't do anything," Madam Bones somewhat repeated. "But there might be a way that _we_ can do something about this."

"There is?" Elizabeth asked, a small genuine smile returning to her face. She was glad to know that Madam Bones was planning to do something about Black.

"This all depends on the off-chance that you did _something_ before Minister Fudge and his lawyers made you swear that vow and sign those contracts," Madam Bones said. "And, while it's something that I normally wouldn't approve of you doing, in this instance, it's something that I'm desperately hoping that you did."

"Madam Bones?" Elizabeth questioned.

"I trust your judgement and I know that you are very discreet in your tasks – something that makes you an excellent employee in this department," Madam Bones said as Elizabeth was trying to figure out where she was going with this. "But, over the years that you've worked here, I've noticed that when you're particularly overwhelmed, you rely on others to help you. A very good quality – it's necessary in this line of work to know when to ask for help."

Madam Bones paused for a moment and gave Elizabeth a considering look.

"Ms. Lewis, when I tasked you with finding the supposed missing transcripts for Sirius Black's trial, I didn't realize what a project I was asking you to undertake," Madam Bones said. "With such a large undertaking, I'd be a little surprised if you hadn't asked anyone for help."

And just like that, Elizabeth understood what Madam Bones was saying.

"And with every Ministry employee that you interacted with during your search under a similar set of confidentiality contracts," Madam Bones continued. "Perhaps there was someone else you consulted with, someone else you asked for help with this case who is _not_ employed by the Ministry? Someone else that the Minister is unaware of and therefore didn't place under such a contract?"

Elizabeth didn't know if Madam Bones actually knew or if she was just guessing, but Elizabeth was suddenly reminded why Madam Bones was the head of the entire department.

"Tell me, Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones asked with a hint of a smile, "Have you told anyone else about the Black case?"

Madam Bones was brilliant.

"If I have?" Elizabeth asked.

"Officially, I'd have to tell you that this person would be required to come in and also be sworn to secrecy on this subject matter," Madam Bones responded, raising an eyebrow.

"And unofficially?" Elizabeth asked, feeling almost giddy with relief that maybe she – they – still had a chance to get Sirius Black a trial.

"Well, if a concerned citizen happens to come to the same conclusions that you did and this citizen just happens to go to the press to report it," Madam Bones leaned back in her chair. "I'm afraid that there wouldn't be anything we could do about it, now would there?"

"Madam Bones?" Elizabeth asked, standing up.

"Yes?" Madam Bones asked conversationally.

"I think I'll be taking an extended lunch break," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Take as long as you need, Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones said.

"Will that be all, Madam Bones?" Ms. Lewis asked.

"That will be all, Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones said as Elizabeth turned around and headed for the door.

Elizabeth closed the door behind her as she walked out of Madam Bones' office and towards her desk. Quickly refiling Auror Gibbs' report, Elizabeth made sure that everything on her desk was in order before she left for her lunch break.

As she made her way towards one of the fireplaces, Elizabeth hoped that her fiancé was still at his law firm and not out consulting with a client.

Throwing down a bit of Floo powder and clearly saying the name of her fiancé's law firm, Elizabeth left the Ministry. Once Elizabeth exited the fireplace, she walked up to the law firm's reception desk.

"Ms. Lewis," the receptionist greeted cordially.

"Hey Eugene," Elizabeth smiled. "Is Greg around?"

"Yes," Eugene confirmed. "He's in his office. I believe he's reviewing a few files for an upcoming case, so feel free to go on in."

"Thanks!" Elizabeth said, walking past the reception desk and towards the back of the building where Gregory's office was located.

Sharply rapping on the door, Elizabeth heard her fiancé say, "Come in."

As Elizabeth opened the door, Gregory looked up from the file he had in his hands. A smile crossed Gregory's face and his eyes lit up when he saw that it was Elizabeth at his door.

"Lizzy!" Greg exclaimed, putting the file down on his desk as he stood up. Elizabeth smiled back at him as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. Greg crossed the room and greeted Elizabeth with a quick peck on the lips and a twirling hug that caused her to give a started laugh.

"Greg! Put me down," Elizabeth laughed as she lightly smacked his arm when he set her down.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?" Greg asked with a note of concern in his voice, his arms still lightly looped around her waist.

"Madam Bones gave me an extended lunch break and I thought I'd spend it with you," Elizabeth explained with a wry smile.

"Lunch break?" Greg asked, confused. "It's almost nine in the morning. I mean, we could do an early brunch, I suppose, but I get the feeling that you're here for more than just surprising me with a meal together."

"Yeah," Elizabeth breathed. "Do you have some time to discuss something rather important?"

"For you?" Greg asked. "I always have time."

Elizabeth smiled and said, "Sap."

Greg grinned goofily at her.

"It may take a while," Elizabeth warned. "And it'll likely end up with us, or actually just you, going to the Daily Prophet and maybe a few other news offices."

"Well, you couldn't've chosen a better day," Greg said with a sigh. "I don't have any client meetings scheduled for today. And I still have two more days to finish reviewing my case files."

"So, should we stay here or…" Elizabeth asked, trailing off.

"My office has quite a few silencing wards and other protections to help keep what is discussed between me and my clients confidential, so it might be best if we stay here," Greg suggested, guiding Elizabeth to sit down with him.

"Alright," Elizabeth took a deep breath. Greg placed a supporting hand on her knee. "Do you remember when I dragged you with me to help look at old newspapers for information about Sirius Black?"

At Gregory's confirming nod, Elizabeth continued, "Well, it's about Sirius Black's trial… or lack thereof."

And since Gregory already knew about Black's lack of trial from their unsuccessful search for information through the news archives, she could tell her fiancé all about how the Minister was trying his hardest to cover up everything related to Black's lack of trial, despite the confidentiality contracts she signed and the secrecy vow she was forced to make.

Loopholes were amazing things.

...

 _"Tell me, Harry," Professor Lupin said, folding his arms across his chest and looking directly at Harry. "What do you know about Sirius Black?"_

"Umm…" Harry wondered if that was supposed to be a trick question. "He's the murderer who betrayed my parents?" That came out as more of a question than Harry wanted it to be, but he was thrown by the fact that Professor Lupin was asking him about Sirius Black.

When Professor Lupin had asked to speak to him, Harry figured it'd be about a complaint against Snuffles or something since Lupin had told Harry to bring his dog with him.

"Is that all you know?" Professor Lupin asked. There was something that sounded a little off in Professor Lupin's voice, but Harry just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Pretty much, yeah," Harry said, running a reassuring hand over Snuffles' head. "Uh, there might be some other things, but that's pretty much the gist of it."

"And what do you know about your dog?"

If Harry had thought that Snuffles was tense before, it was nothing compared to now.

"What does Snuffles have to do with anything?" Harry questioned as Snuffles let out a barely noticeable whine.

"Please, humor me, Harry," Professor Lupin briefly looked at Snuffles before returning his gaze to Harry. "What can you tell me about your dog? Specifically, about his behavior towards you."

Harry didn't know what Professor Lupin wanted him to say, but Harry saw no harm in answering the professor's question.

"Snuffles is like my best friend," Harry said, continuing to pet Snuffles. "He defends me, sometimes to the point of being overprotective," Harry teased, glancing at Snuffles as he said this, but Snuffles remained unreactive. Frowning slightly, Harry continued, "He's friendly and he goes with me practically everywhere."

"Has he ever been aggressive?"

"What are you getting at, professor?" Harry narrowed his eyes, offended on Snuffles' behalf that Professor Lupin would even suggest that Snuffles was in anyway violent.

"Please, Harry, answer me."

Sighing, Harry said, "No. No, he's never been aggressive."

Professor Lupin gave Harry a disbelieving look.

"I recall hearing about an incident involving Snuffles around the time that you were sent to the Hospital Wing," Professor Lupin said lightly.

Harry pulled back a bit, confused. It almost sounded like the professor was fishing for information to use against Snuffles.

Harry took a moment to recall all the times he'd been in the Hospital Wing since he got Snuffles before he realized what Professor Lupin was referring to.

"An incident?" Harry asked somewhat incredulously. "Alright, yes, Snuffles was a bit… on edge. But he was only ever defensive! He was worried about me and he was trying to make sure I wasn't, you know, dying or something. He was only trying to defend me from other people… not that I actually needed him to do that, but still… Snuffles never hurt anyone! He just growled a bit and then stuck to me like a particularly stubborn burr."

"So, your dog has never harmed you or anyone else?" Professor Lupin clarified.

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "Snuffles has never hurt anyone! What's this all about, Professor? I really don't appreciate you saying or asking these things about Snuffles. He's a good dog! A good friend!"

"Harry," Professor Lupin said firmly. "What I have to say next will be difficult to hear, but I want you to pay attention and listen to all that I have to say, alright? Try not to interrupt until I've explained my reasoning. Can you do that?"

"I suppose," Harry agreed dubiously.

Suddenly feeling nervous, Harry rested his hand on top of Snuffles' head. Snuffles stayed still for a moment before he leaned into Harry's hand and then shifted to briefly rub his head against Harry's leg.

Professor Lupin was intently gazing at Snuffles, so Harry cleared his throat to bring the professor's attention back to him.

Looking directly at Harry, Professor Lupin seemed to steel himself before saying, "I have reason to believe that your dog isn't just a dog."

Harry almost interrupted Professor Lupin when he said that, but he managed to restrain himself.

"I'm afraid that your dog, Snuffles, is an animagus," Professor Lupin finished.

'Animagus,' Harry mouthed with a furrowed brow, holding back the question he wanted to ask.

"An animagus is a witch or wizard who can transform themselves into an animal," Professor Lupin lectured, noticing the question that was obviously written across Harry's face. "In this case, and please try to remain calm, I believe that your dog is actually Sirius Black."

Harry couldn't stop the snort of disbelief even if he wanted to.

"Snuffles is really Sirius Black?" Harry questioned skeptically. "Try the other leg, Professor."

As Professor Lupin was speaking, Harry noted that Snuffles appeared to be breathing really hard, almost as if the dog was close to hyperventilating or something.

 _'Maybe,'_ Harry thought, concerned. _'I should take Snuffles to get check out by Hagrid after Professor Lupin lets us go… Or, well, maybe after I can convince Professor Lupin to go visit Madam Pomfrey because clearly the professor is having some kind of psychotic break.'_

"Just try to keep an open mind about this," Professor Lupin kindly demanded. "Now, back when I was a student at Hogwarts, I had three close friends: Your father, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. The four of us did almost everything together. And my once close friendship with Sirius is how I know that he's an animagus. In fact, all three of my friends were animagi. James' animagus form was a stag, Peter was a rat, and Sirius could transform into a dog – a large, black, Grim-looking dog."

Harry opened his mouth to poke holes in Professor Lupin's theory about Snuffles, but Professor Lupin didn't allow him the chance.

"I know what you're about to say," Professor Lupin continued. "Just because Snuffles looks like a Grim, that doesn't mean that your dog is Sirius Black."

"Right," Harry chimed in. "So –"

"And yet, Snuffles looks exactly like what I know to be Sirius' animagus form," Professor Lupin interjected. "But, I know that I won't be able to convince you of this on looks alone. So, let's consider Sirius', well, Snuffles' behavior."

Harry knew that Professor Lupin didn't want to be interrupted, but Harry couldn't help himself.

"So, you think that Snuffles is Sirius Black because of his behavior? Snuffles?! He's been nothing but protective and friendly towards me," Harry said emphatically. "Sirius Black is a psycho-murderer who I've been told has a grudge against me and is actively trying to hunt me down and kill me. And Snuffles… Snuffles is my overprotective dog! Not a murderer pretending to be a dog! Snuffles is just a _dog_!"

"Harry," Professor Lupin was starting to sound a little exasperated. "I understand that this is a difficult concept to come to terms with, but please, you must admit, you are biased in your view of Snuffles –"

"And I think you're biased in your view!" Harry snapped.

"Harry!" Professor snapped back.

Both of them stared intensely at the other. Harry was the first to look away.

Harry didn't know what to say. Obviously his professor was having a nervous breakdown in front of him.

"I know how this sounds, but it's true," Professor Lupin said, sounding tired. "Sirius is –"

"Professor, just… think about what you're suggesting," Harry coaxed. "Maybe we should go talk about this with –"

"Harry. Sirius is an animagus. His form is a large, black dog – he looks quite similar to a Grim," Professor Lupin stated. "I've seen his form many, many times. I've had to put up with his antics in his canine form for many years. I'm not sure what his motivations are, but your dog, Snuffles, is most certainly Sirius Black."

"No matter how many times you say it, that doesn't make it true," Harry said, unsympathetically. "And I don't believe you, so you can just stop repeating yourself."

"Please, Harry," Professor Lupin said firmly, but with a slight pleading note to his voice. "I know that this sounds insane, that this sounds paranoid. I know this. I had to convince myself that I wasn't just looking too far into things. And maybe I'm going about this the wrong way, but please, _please_ , believe me when I say that I just want to keep you safe. Please, Harry, just trust me on this."

Harry looked down at Snuffles and saw that the dog hadn't really moved at all during the course of the conversation. Harry placed a comforting hand on top of the Snuffles' head.

"Okay… Okay, let's say that… as impossible as this all sounds, let's say that I believe you. That I believe that Snuffles is… is Sirius Black," Harry said haltingly, deciding to play along with Professor Lupin's delusion in the hopes that it would get the professor to release Harry and Snuffles soon. Harry squashed the small thought in the back of his head that said that maybe the professor wasn't entirely off his rocker with what he was saying.

Professor Lupin nodded encouragingly at Harry.

"If he really is… Sirius Black… then why hasn't he attacked me or something," Harry said, trying to point out an obvious flaw in Professor Lupin's reasoning. "And if you're so sure that Snuffles isn't really just a dog, then why haven't you tied him up or told anyone else about him? Why hasn't my dog tried to make a run for it then? He should've tried to run off the moment you mentioned him being Sirius Black. If my dog really is who you think he is, then why haven't you _done something_ to him?!"

"I've often wondered the same thing," Professor Lupin muttered under his breath before speaking up. "I don't know what Sirius' motivations are, but since he hasn't harmed you, I didn't say anything because of the Dementors that are out there, patrolling the grounds and hoping to catch him. I've tried to figure out what he's thinking, but the only way that I can see his reasoning for remaining in his animagus form, for staying with you and protecting you, is that," Professor Lupin briefly paused with a pained grimace and looked down at Snuffles, "perhaps, Sirius Black didn't betray your parents."

Snuffles jumped as if someone had just hit him with a jolt of lightening. Harry watched as Snuffles raised his head to look at Professor Lupin with wide eyes.

"If Sirius Black didn't betray my parents, then who do you think did?" Harry shakily asked, not wanting to believe a word that Professor Lupin was saying, but decided to encourage the conversation anyway when it became clear that Professor Lupin wasn't going to say anything else.

If what the professor was saying was in any way true…

Harry couldn't believe that he was even seriously considering what Professor Lupin was saying. It couldn't be true. None of it was true. Sirius Black was the murderer who betrayed Harry's parents and Snuffles was just a dog – a dog who could understand English – but just a dog nonetheless. Professor Lupin was just… confused.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I'm beginning to think that it might've been Peter Pettigrew," Professor Lupin said, a little hesitant but mostly sounding confident with his answer.

"A dead man?!" He couldn't be serious.

"Peter Pettigrew is alive," Professor Lupin said.

"No. He's not," Harry denied. "That's crazy-talk, Professor."

"You said it yourself," Professor Lupin insisted. "You saw Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map that one night. It was why you were out of bed investigating, was it not?"

"The Map must've been wrong," Harry said. "Because Pettigrew's dead and I didn't actually _see_ him. I just saw the name."

"The Map is never wrong, Harry," Professor Lupin said with conviction.

"So by that logic, then Snuffles should've appeared as Sirius Black on the Map, right?" Harry asked, but quickly continued, not giving Professor Lupin the time to answer. "Snuffles showed up as _Snuffles_ on the Marauder's Map. Sirius Black's name was nowhere to be seen. So Snuffles isn't Sirius Black."

Professor Lupin looked considerately at Harry before responding.

"There are ways for certain people to conceal their true names from the Map, but only if they have access to it," Professor Lupin said conversationally. "Tell me, Harry, where did you leave the Marauder's Map when you didn't have it on your person? Did you leave it somewhere in your room? And perhaps, did you leave… Snuffles alone in your room as well? If he had just a few minutes alone with the Map, Sirius could have, and I assure you – he did, change the way his name would appear on the Map from Sirius Black to Snuffles."

Harry stared at his professor in disbelief.

"I know it's hard to beli–"

"Oh!" Harry interrupted Professor Lupin as he raised his voice incredulously. "So now you're an expert on the Map?!" Harry dropped his voice to mimic Professor Lupin's voice. "The Map is never wrong, Harry," Harry returned to speaking in his own voice. "And now you're saying that the Map _is_ wrong in this instance."

"No! No, that's not what I'm sa–"

"That's exactly what you're saying!" Harry exclaimed, fed up with the professor accusing Snuffles of being Sirius Black. "That's what you're telling me. The Map isn't wrong and it identifies everyone correctly – except for right now. Except that you're saying that even though the Map shows Snuffles as _Snuffles_ that Snuffles is actually Sirius Black! What?" Harry asked with a bit of hysteria. "Did the Map have a hiccup or something? Is it going on the fritz? And I'm just supposed to believe you about it because you're this all-knowing expert on the Marauder's Map?! How in Merlin's name would you know?!"

"I know, Harry," Professor Lupin said, purposefully keeping his voice even. "I know because I created the Marauder's Map alongside your father, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. The four of us made the Map during our time as students here at Hogwarts. So, yes, I do know all about the Marauder's Map _because_ I helped create it!"

"You…" Harry trailed off.

"As I've said before, I was the best of friends with your father, and yes, with Sirius Black as well, which is how I know about Sirius' animagus form and about the Marauder's Map," Professor Lupin explained.

Harry stared disbelievingly at his professor.

Professor Lupin was being entirely serious. The man actually believed that Snuffles was Sirius Black.

Maybe…

Maybe, Snuffles really was…

No.

No, Professor Lupin was just confused. He was dreadfully, horribly confused and Harry and Snuffles were caught in the middle of the professor's delusion.

Yes, Harry decided, opening and shutting his mouth a few times without making any noise, that was the only way that Harry could make sense of what his professor was saying since it appeared that Professor Lupin had utterly gone 'round the bend.

It shouldn't've been that shocking.

Actually, Harry should've seen something like this coming. In his first year, the Defense professor was possessed by Voldemort and then… died. So he didn't come back for Harry's second year and that left the position open for the fraud who ended the year by getting his memory wiped. Apparently the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that Harry had heard some of the older students muttering about was real. And, apparently, the curse was making Professor Lupin go to paranoid levels of crazy.

It was just too unbelievable to be real.

"Snuffles isn't Sirius Black, Professor," Harry said, trying to sound calm as if his own head wasn't spinning with the thoughts of what it could mean if Professor Lupin was actually correct. "It's a… nice theory you have, but it's wrong. And I think it's time for me, for us, to go."

Harry looked at Snuffles, but the dog wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Let's go, Snuffles," Harry made a motion to stand up, but stopped when Professor Lupin spoke up.

"Harry, I'm afraid that I can't let you leave with the dog," Professor Lupin said slowly, as if he was afraid he was going to spook Harry into doing something stupid. "I don't know what he's playing at, but I can't in good conscious continue to let Sirius Black roam around the castle."

That was it. Harry was done playing this stupid game with Lupin. He was tired of his professor harping on about Snuffles being Sirius.

He shouldn't have to sit here and listen to this.

And so he wasn't going to. Harry was done. He was _so done_ with all of this.

"No. No! What are you… What are you saying?! Now you want to keep my dog?! Do you think that I'm just going let you take Snuffles away from me?! And only on your word, on your suggestion, your theory, that my dog – who I've had with me for the entire year, mind you! – that Snuffles is Sirius Black. That's… That's insane! _You're_ insane!" Harry shouted, abruptly standing up. It was time to go. He and Snuffles needed to get out of the room and away from Professor Lupin

"Harry, please, just listen –" Professor Lupin started to say.

"NO! No! I won't. I don't have to listen to this!" Harry said vehemently. "There is no way that Snuffles is Sirius Black! I mean," Harry exhaled noisily, "he's Snuffles! He's a dog. Just a dog!"

"Harry –"

"No! Stop it! Just stop it! Shut up!" Harry started slowly backing away from Professor Lupin and moving towards the door. "Just… Come on, Snuffles. We're leaving! This is… You've been cursed or something, Professor. You need help. So, I'm going to take my dog and leave."

Snuffles hadn't moved at all. The dog was still sitting next to the chair that Harry had just vacated.

"Come on, Snuffles!" Harry's voice cracked as he begged his dog. "Please, Snuffles! Let's just go!"

"Harry, please –" Professor Lupin started to say, looking very concerned.

"NO! You just shut up and leave us alone!" Harry yelled, not caring how he was acting towards a professor.

Professor Lupin gazed at Harry for a moment before he sighed and turned to look at Snuffles.

"Are you going to transform willingly or will I have to use an animagus revealing spell and force the transformation?" Professor Lupin asked softly. Harry just now noticed that the professor had his wand in his hand and was starting to angle it towards Snuffles.

"Don't you dare point your wand at my dog!" Harry ordered frantically. "Come here, Snuffles! Please!"

Snuffles took a deep breath and got up.

Harry watched with bated breath as Snuffles walked up to him. This would all be over soon. Once Snuffles reached Harry, then Harry and Snuffles could leave the room and get away from Professor Lupin.

"Let's leave, Snuffles," Harry prompted when it became apparent that Snuffles wasn't going to go charging out the door with him.

Snuffles brushed up against Harry's legs and looked up at him with a woeful expression.

"Snuffles?" Harry questioned softly.

The dog whined in response, so Harry reached down and moved his hand over the top of Snuffles' head. Snuffles closed his eyes and leaned into the touch before returning his sad gaze to Harry.

Snuffles turned away from Harry and padded back towards the chair that Harry had been sitting on.

"Snuffles, come back! Please," Harry begged. Harry didn't like the way that things were starting to look. He wanted things to go back to normal. He just wanted to leave. He just wanted to leave with Snuffles. "Please… don't… don't do this!"

Snuffles gazed at Harry for a moment before closing his eyes.

The transformation from dog to human took seconds.

A few seconds, and yet it felt like a lifetime to Harry.

A few seconds was all it took for Harry's world to shatter.

The man was a bit scruffy looking, with ragged prison clothes and long, shaggy hair. His face looked fuller and he was definitely cleaner, but Harry remembered the picture of Sirius Black that he had seen in the Daily Prophet. And the man who was once his dog, who was once Snuffles, could be none other than Sirius Black.

"No," Harry denied in a small voice. The room was slanting – no, that was just him. Harry caught himself before he fell over. He was shaky and his knees wobbled like they were about to give out.

This wasn't happening.

"Harry –" The man, Black, began to say in a somewhat raspy voice.

"No!" Harry denied again and, to his horror, Harry felt tears start to well in his eyes. "I… I _trusted_ you! You were… You were… I thought you were my friend!"

"I am! Harry, please, you were in danger from that _rat!_ You've got to understand! I –" Black was interrupted again.

"NO! I don't understand! I don't have to understand. I won't!" Harry blinked rapidly to try to keep his tears from falling.

"Harry –" Professor Lupin gently began to say, looking at Harry with pity in his eyes, but he still had his wand pointed at Sirius.

"Shut up!" Harry's voice cracked, his eyes flickering back and forth between Professor Lupin and Sirius Black.

This couldn't be happening.

Harry felt his legs wobbling, so he leaned back against the closed door with a shuttering exhale to keep himself from falling to the ground.

Sirius cautiously approached Harry with his hands held out in front of him, as if he was approaching a wild animal.

"Sirius," Professor Lupin warned, but the man ignored him. Sirius kept his attention firmly on Harry, acting as if Lupin wasn't even in the room.

Sirius was only a few steps away from Harry, but Harry couldn't move, couldn't think. Harry didn't know how he was supposed to react. He had… Harry had been deceived by… by someone he thought would never be able to do so, would never want to do so. And it hurt. It physically hurt.

Sirius slowly reached out a hand towards Harry.

"Don't touch me!" Harry violently flinched away. "You don't get to do that!"

"Harry," Sirius looked devastated as he dropped his arms to his side. "Please, I know what I did was… was wrong, but I did it, all of it, to protect you. Pettigrew is a rat and he would've hurt you, given half the chance. I had to protect you!"

"No! Protect me?!" Harry sounded hysterical. "You don't get to say that! I trusted you and you betrayed me!"

"Harry –" Sirius started to say.

"I can't! I-I can't!" Harry was frantically searching for the doorknob behind his back, but kept his eyes on the two men in front of him.

Finally getting a grip on the doorknob, Harry quickly threw the door open and raced out of the room, not willing to chance a glance behind him.

Harry's heart was beating so loud that it drowned out just about everything around Harry. Everything, except for a shout coming from the room he had just fled from.

"Harry!"

Harry wasn't sure if that was Professor Lupin or Sirius Black who had called out to him.

He didn't care.

All he wanted to do was get away.

He wanted to forget about what had just happened, what he had just learned.

So, Harry ran.

...

"Harry!"

Sirius' anguished shout seemed to reverberate throughout the room.

What has he done?

What has he _done?!_

"Sirius," Remus called his attention away from the door that Harry just fled through. With a slight sigh, Remus pointed his wand at the door and the door slammed shut.

"Remus," Sirius said brokenly. He turned to face Remus and saw that Remus had his wand pointed at him.

"Sirius, I have some questions for you," Remus said seriously. "And I'm going to need you to answer them honestly."

"Veritaserum?" Sirius asked, sounding resigned.

"No," Remus said. "I don't think we need Veritaserum just yet. I can tell when you're lying."

"It's been twelve years," Sirius stated. "I'm not who I once was."

"Neither am I," Remus said.

Sirius looked at Remus before turning back to the door.

"Harry's all by himself," Sirius said. "I need to get back out there to protect him. Pettigrew's out there. I know you know it. I heard you telling Harry about him."

"I can't just let you go, Sirius," Remus still had his wand pointed directly at Sirius.

"Why the hell not?!" Sirius turned to Remus with a vicious snarl. "Harry needs to be protected. He's vulnerable right now. That rat bastard could easily snatch him away and hurt him!"

"I need to makes sure that you're not a danger to Harry or the other students," Remus paused for a moment, looking at Sirius as if he was considering something. "or a danger to yourself. I won't let you go off on another harebrained scheme and get yourself captured or killed by Aurors or Dementors."

"So you don't want me captured by Ministry lackeys?" Sirius asked, sounding dangerous. "Why not? It's my fault that… that James and Lily are dead. It's – It's all my fault!"

"I think I've put together most of what actually happened that night on my own, but I need you to fill in some blanks," Remus said calmly. "So you're going to tell me about what happened and what your current plans are. And then, if I find what you've said to be satisfactory, we'll go find Harry together. Harry should be safe enough within the castle's walls for the time that it will take for us to discuss this."

"And if what I say isn't to your satisfaction?" Sirius testily asked.

"Then I'll turn you over to the Aurors myself," Remus said, his wand still pointed at Sirius.

Sirius was silent for a moment as he stared at Remus.

"Very well," Sirius said, crossing his arms across his chest. "What do you want me to say? What can I say that will get you to let me go after Harry?"

"The truth, for starters," Remus responded.

"The truth? About that night?" Sirius asked, sounding slightly unhinged. "Or about how I escaped from prison? Or about why I've stayed with Harry as a dog?"

"All of the above, I suppose," Remus said with a wry twist of his lips.

"We shouldn't be wasting time with talking!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed. "Harry's unprotected and –"

"And I'm sure he'll be safe for the next few minutes while you convince me that you're not a danger to Harry," Remus finished firmly. "Should you try to leave right now, Sirius, I can assure you that you won't make it past the door."

Remus shifted his wand to emphasize his point.

Giving an explosive sigh, Sirius uncrossed his arms to run his fingers through his hair.

"Okay… okay, alright. But it'll be the short version because I don't feel comfortable with Harry out there alone when I don't know where that rat is," Sirius said.

"And that's the reason why I'm willing to hear you out," Remus said.

Sirius squinted his eyes at Remus, showing his confusion.

"Your willingness and determination to protect Harry," Remus explained. "I don't believe that the true betrayer of James and Lily would be so quick to defend their son."

"So you… don't really believe that I…" Sirius trailed off, his voice tinged with cautious hope.

"Why don't you tell me about what really happened that night and the events leading up to where we are now?" Remus suggested, though Sirius knew it was more of a demand than anything else.

Sirius sighed deeply and gave a longing glance at the door that Harry had just disappeared through. Turning back to look at Remus, Sirius began his tale, "Well, I guess it all started when the thought protecting James, Lily, and Harry's location by using the Fidelius Charm came up…"

It was a disheartening story. So much could've been prevented. If only Sirius had trusted the right people. If only… If only Sirius had trusted Remus.

Back then, at the height of the war, the Order knew that there was a spy within their midst. Someone was giving information to the Death Eaters; and with so many dark creatures willing to join up with Voldemort's cause, it was easy to assume that the traitor was a _werewolf_ – that the traitor was Remus.

Sirius should've known better.

Remus had been one of his best friends for years – Sirius should've known that Remus would've never betrayed them.

But Sirius thought that it was possible, that Remus was likely a traitor, a spy. In fact, many Order members believed that Remus was most likely the spy. So it had been decided to keep the true identity of the Secret Keeper confidential. Only James, Lily, Sirius, and Peter would know the truth. They agreed to lead the others to believe that Sirius was the Secret Keeper.

Sirius hadn't trusted Remus when he should have. Instead, Sirius placed his trust in his other friend, in Peter. And Peter turned out to be the spy, the traitor, _the rat_.

It all came down to trust.

James and Lily died because they had placed their trust in the wrong person.

Harry became an orphan because his parents and his godfather had placed their trust in the wrong person.

Sirius lost two great friends, failed his godson, and was thrown into Azkaban because he had placed his trust in the wrong person.

They had trusted a _rat_.

And that was what brought Sirius to where he was today.

He had stayed with Harry in the only way that Sirius knew he'd be allowed to remain – in his animagus form. It hadn't been his plan at first, but Sirius made the decision to stay. He stayed with Harry all this time because he couldn't face letting Harry down again. Sirius stayed to protect Harry.

Every so often, Sirius would falter for a moment or two, but Remus remained patiently quiet until Sirius finally fell silent, indicating that he was finished.

Although it couldn't have been more than a minute or two, Remus' silence was unnerving Sirius.

"Say something," Sirius softly demanded. "Please."

Remus stayed quiet for a moment longer before simply saying, "I believe you."

"Remus?" Sirius whispered, almost hesitant to say something – as if saying something would make Remus take back his words. Sirius hadn't known how much Remus' belief would mean to him.

Suddenly Sirius was moving.

Maybe he tripped forward.

And maybe Remus had tripped as well.

But before he knew it, Sirius was embracing Remus and laughing – because if he wasn't laughing, then he'd probably be crying.

Remus _believed_ him.

 _Remus_ believed _him_!

And Sirius had his friend back.

Sirius couldn't believe how relieved he felt just knowing that Remus would have his back again.

Oh, he knew that they still had a lot to discuss. It had been twelve years after all.

Twelve years of Remus believing that Sirius was a traitor.

Twelve years of Sirius stewing in guilt, stuck in Azkaban.

And before that, it had been very… tense between Sirius and Remus since Sirius was convinced that Remus was a spy and Remus had known that a lot of people, Sirius included, were thinking the worst of him.

So, yes, the two of them had a lot to talk about, but that would have to wait. First, they had to find Harry and make sure that he was safe and secure. And then they would find that rat bastard and make him pay for what he did.

Clearing his throat as he and Remus parted, Sirius immediately brought the focus back to Harry.

"We have to find Harry," Sirius was still elated by Remus' belief, but he was more concerned by the fact that he had no idea where Harry was at the moment. And that rat was still out there somewhere.

"Yes, we do," Remus easily agreed. "But once we know that Harry is safe and that he's not going to try to do anything reckless, you and I will go to Dumbledore and –"

"And I'll tell him everything I just told you?" Sirius interrupted, suddenly worried for his own safety. "What if he –"

"He'll listen, Sirius," Remus returned the favor by interrupting Sirius. "And through Dumbledore, we might be able to initiate contact with the Ministry and get your name cleared without the risk of some overzealous Auror or Dementor preventing you from ever speaking."

"But first Harry," Sirius said, quiet but firm.

"First we'll find Harry," Remus confirmed, walking away from Sirius and towards the other side of his desk.

"Alright, I can search the first two floors and the grounds," Sirius said, getting ready to shift into his animagus form. "And you should search –"

"Sirius," Remus called, wry humor and affection coloring his words even though Sirius knew they were intended to be a gentle reprimand for Sirius to stop while he was ahead.

"What?" Sirius asked, a little peeved that Remus was shuffling through his desk drawers rather than dropping everything to help him search for Harry right this minute.

"I have something that might make our search a little easier," Remus said as he triumphantly pulled out an old piece of parchment. A very familiar old piece of parchment.

"The Map," Sirius breathed, almost reverently. "I'd almost forgotten you'd confiscated that from Harry."

Sirius took a few quick steps so that he was standing in front of the desk, opposite of Remus, as Remus tapped the Marauder's Map with his wand and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Remus spread the Map out over his desk as ink gracefully appeared on the parchment.

"This brings back old memories," Sirius whispered with a ghost of a smile touching his lips.

Remus looked up from the Map and over to Sirius.

"Yeah," Remus agreed with a slight smile. "It does."

Remus turned his attention back to the Marauder's Map and, after a second or two, so did Sirius. The two wizards poured over the Map, searching for Harry's name.

...

Harry hadn't realized that he was outside until he tripped over an upturned stone and landed hard on his knees. He didn't bother getting up. Instead, he hunched over further and curled his fingers into the soft grass before him, focused on trying to slow down his racing heart.

Harry was breathing hard and not all of that was from his, admittedly panicked, run through the castle.

Snuffles was his friend, but Snuffles was Sirius Black.

Everyone knew that Sirius Black was out to kill him, but Snuffles protected him.

Professor Lupin seemed convinced that Sirius _didn't_ betray Harry's parents, but…

But Harry didn't know what he was supposed to believe or what he was supposed to do now.

Harry stayed there, kneeling on the ground, for about ten minutes or so, just trying to process what he'd been told and what had been revealed to him.

The silence that surrounded him was interrupted when Harry heard someone approaching from behind him. Refusing to move, Harry almost audibly growled when whoever it was that had been walking towards him stopped directly behind Harry.

 _'I swear to Merlin, if that's Sirius Black or Professor Lupin, I'm going to –'_

"Harry? What are you…" Hermione trailed off when she saw that Harry was making no move to stand.

Harry turned to look over his shoulder and saw that Ron was standing to the right of Hermione. Both of his friends were staring down at Harry with concern.

"Are you alright, mate?" Ron asked.

"Fine," Harry snapped.

Harry sighed as Hermione imperceptibly flinched back.

"Sorry, it's just… been a long day," Harry said, uncurling his fingers from the grass and slowly standing up. Ron offered him a hand and Harry took it, nodding at Ron in thanks.

"Well, at least exams are over now?" Ron took a guess at the source of Harry's stress.

Ron was wrong, but since Harry didn't want to get into the whole Snuffles-is-Sirius mess at the moment, Harry didn't correct him.

"Yeah, all that's left is the ending feast and then the train back to London," Harry said.

Later, Harry decided, he would tell Ron and Hermione about what Professor Lupin said and about Snuffles being Sirius Black. But right now, Harry still wanted some time to internally process what that meant. Harry would probably tell Ron and Hermione later tonight or sometime tomorrow. He just needed a little more time to himself to figure it all out.

"So what are you two doing out here?" Harry asked casually, trying to change the subject.

"We got a letter from Hagrid, asking us to come visit this evening. We tried to look for you around the castle but we couldn't find you so we decided to go ahead and see Hagrid. We were hoping that we might stumble upon you on our way to see him and we did. We just didn't think that we'd _literally_ stumble upon you," Hermione said, giving him a knowing glance but apparently willing to leave well enough alone and not ask about his kneeling-in-the-dirt episode.

"If you don't want to, we could go back up to the castle and send a note to Hagrid, asking if we could visit him sometime tomorrow instead?" Hermione offered.

"Yeah, mate, you aren't looking to good," Ron peered a bit closer at Harry. "I think you're looking a little pale."

"No, I'm fine, really," Harry insisted. "We can go see Hagrid."

"If you're sure…" Hermione questioned.

"I'm sure," Harry just wanted to focus on something else, if only for a few minutes.

"Right," Ron said, "Then we should probably get going so we can get to Hagrid and back to the castle before dark."

"Ron's right," Hermione agreed. "Let's go."

It was a short walk to Hagrid's Hut. Harry could feel Ron and Hermione eying him, probably still concerned over finding him hunched down on the grounds, but Harry wasn't about to stop and address their concerns since he didn't really want to think about why he had been kneeling on the ground. Also, they had just made it to Hagrid's door, so now would definitely not be the time to get into it.

Harry stepped up and knocked on the door which gained the immediate reaction of Fang barking like crazy.

"Back, Fang! Back!" Hagrid commanded as he opened the door, not that it stopped the dog from running out the door and enthusiastically greeting the three students.

"Hello Hagrid," Hermione said.

Both Ron and Harry said their hellos to Hagrid as well.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione! It's good ta see ya!" Hagrid said happily, moving to the side to allow the three of them to enter his Hut. "Come in! Come in!"

As he ushered Harry, Ron, and Hermione to sit at the table, Hagrid went over to his cupboards and started pulling out tea cups and plates.

"All done with your exams now?" Hagrid asked, setting the dishes on the table and then returning to set down a big plate of rock cakes.

"Yup! They're finally over," Ron answered, sounding relieved. "For us, anyway. Some of the older students still have exams to take."

Unfortunately, as Hagrid was bringing over the teapot, milk jug, and bowl of sugar, Fang chose to cross in front of Hagrid. Hagrid hadn't seen the dog, so, although he stopped himself from falling over Fang, his grip on the milk jug slipped and the container shattered, spilling the milk all over the floor.

Fang dashed away at the sound of the milk jug shattering.

"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"Yup, don't ya worry," Hagrid said, setting the teapot and bowl of sugar on the table. "Nothing's hurt or broken… Well, except for that jug."

Fang returned with his tail between his legs but eager to lick up the milk that was slowly spreading on the floor.

"Back, Fang!" Hagrid shooed. "I've gotta get those shards cleaned up first so ya don't slice yer tongue open."

"Here, let me help," Hermione offered, standing up from her seat.

"Thanks! I can get this here cleaned up," Hagrid said, indicating to the mess on the floor in front of him. "If you could grab that jug over there on the counter," Hagrid pointed to a jug, "and fill it with some milk, that should work as a good replacement."

Harry and Ron were holding onto Fang's collar to keep the dog out of Hagrid's way, but at the sound of Hermione's shriek, Harry let go of Fang which caused Fang to jerk Ron towards Hagrid before Ron let go of Fang as well. Fang immediately went to the spilt milk and started lapping it up.

Harry, Ron, and Hagrid were all looking at Hermione in concern. Hermione was staring into the replacement milk jug in shock.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, wondering what type of creature Hagrid had managed to unintentionally store in such a small container.

"It's Scabbers!" Hermione exclaimed. "He's here! In this jug."

"Really!" Ron raced over to Hermione's side. "Scabbers! It is you! I thought you were dead!"

Happy at the rediscovery of his friend's pet, Harry was smiling as he took a few steps closer to where Ron and Hermione were hovering near the jug.

Ron was overjoyed to be reunited with his pet rat, but when Ron grabbed Scabbers, the rat began flailing in all directions, refusing to hold still in Ron's hands.

"Scabbers, quit it! It's me, Ron," Ron said, trying to calm his rat. "You remember me, right?"

Staring at the rat in Ron's hands, an ominous thought occurred to Harry. Even though he was trying to forget about everything that Professor Lupin had told him, Harry couldn't help but think back to that conversation.

 _'Professor Lupin said that Sirius Black was an animagus with the form of a dog and he was right. Snuffles transformed into Sirius. He said that his other friends were animagus too. That my dad was a stag and that…'_ Harry's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. _'And that Pettigrew was a rat.'_

"Calm down, Scabbers! It's alright now!" Ron exclaimed, trying to get his pet under control.

 _'Even Ron has admitted that Scabbers has lived an awfully long time for a regular rat and according to Ron, Scabbers has been unwell since the summer… well, since around the time that Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban became known to the public.'_

"Maybe you should sit down with him? Away from Fang?" Hermione suggested to Ron.

 _'And Ron said that his rat was called Scabbers because he's missing a toe.'_

"Yeah, alright, I'll try that," Ron agreed, moving away from the milk mess that Fang was eagerly cleaning up and sitting in a chair that was as close to the opposite side of the Hut as Ron could get.

 _'All they could find of Peter Pettigrew was his finger.'_

An icy chill ran its way down Harry's back.

 _'This can't be happening.'_

"I'm sorry, Hagrid, but I think I should get Scabbers back to the castle," Ron said apologetically as he continued to keep a tight hold on the rat. "Maybe being somewhere more familiar will help him relax."

 _'Scabbers is just a rat.'_

"You've probably got the right of it," Hagrid said. "Tha' poor little blighter."

Harry tried to ignore the traitorous thought crossed his mind, _'Just like how Snuffles was just a dog?'_

"We'll can come back and visit you tomorrow," Hermione offered.

Although he, Ron, and Hermione said their goodbyes to Hagrid and started walking back towards the castle, it was all a blur to Harry.

Harry contemplated telling Ron and Hermione about his suspicions that Ron's rat might not actually be just a rat, but then he remembered how crazy he had thought Professor Lupin sounded when the professor tried to convince Harry that Snuffles was Sirius Black. And if Scabbers really was Peter Pettigrew, like Harry was beginning to suspect, then Harry really didn't want to tip him off. It would be better to take the rat to someone who could actually handle the situation.

As much as Harry didn't want to see him again, Harry knew that it would be best if he could get the rat to Professor Lupin.

"Why won't you stop wiggling, Scabbers?" Ron somewhat rhetorically asked.

"Maybe someone cursed him or something?" Harry suggested, a plan to get the rat to Professor Lupin starting to take form in his mind. "We could stop by Professor Lupin's office to get Scabbers checked out, just in case?"

"Why would someone want to curse Scabbers?" Ron asked, sounding slightly offended.

"Who knows? But better safe than sorry, right?" Harry insisted.

"Well, it couldn't hurt," Hermione said. "I don't think Scabbers is cursed – I think he's just frightened. But like Harry said, it might be better to get Scabbers looked over. If only to eliminate that possibility."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Yeah, Lupin's office isn't too far out of the way. We can just stop by for a minute or two on our way to the Common Room and see if Lupin can find anything."

"Professor Lupin," Hermione corrected with a sigh.

"Yeah, him." Ron said, sounding strained as Scabbers started struggling harder to break free of Ron's grip.

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione suddenly hissed, staring at the path ahead of them.

Harry and Ron both looked away from the rat and gazed in front of them to see what startled Hermione. There was a figure getting closer to the three of them.

"Is that...?" Ron trailed off incredulously.

The figure seemed to notice Harry, Ron, and Hermione at that moment and picked up his pace, making a beeline towards them.

"Well, fuck," Harry muttered.

Harry couldn't believe it and didn't know what _he c_ ould be thinking, approaching Harry out in the open when Ron and Hermione were standing right next to him.

Harry wished the figure would just turn around and leave because whatever he was planning, it couldn't be good.

...

"I'm going to kill someone, preferably Potter, but really, any Gryffindor will do."

"Potter, hmm? Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been avoiding all mention of him for pretty much the entire year and now you're willingly bringing up his name. What's the occasion?" Blaise asked, reluctantly looking up from his book as Draco sat down in the armchair that was opposite of Blaise. "Besides homicide, of course."

Draco scoffed, breaking eye contact with Blaise to stare into the fire that was merrily crackling in the fireplace to his left, "I haven't avoided talking about Scarhead, I've just… had better, more important things to discuss."

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Blaise smirk and raise an eyebrow at him. Despite the silence, Blaise's disbelief was loud and clear.

Draco harrumphed and turned his body so that he was fully facing the fireplace, determined to not look at Blaise.

After a few more minutes of _not looking at Blaise_ , Draco discreetly glanced at Blaise. Since Blaise was once again reading, Draco briefly scanned the Slytherin Common Room, debating on whether or not to remain in the room or go and search out the object of his frustration.

Draco made up his mind when he saw Pansy wander into the Common Room from the girls' dormitory. As she sauntered towards where Draco and Blaise were seated, Draco abruptly stood and made his way towards the entrance of the room.

"Good luck," Blaise drawled, not looking up from the book in his hands.

"Where's Draco going?" Pansy asked Blaise as she sat down in the seat that Draco had just vacated.

"To kill Potter, apparently," Blaise said dryly.

"Oh! Draco!" Pansy called out.

Draco paused at the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room and turned around to face Pansy with a slightly aggravated but mostly questioning look on his face.

"Remember, premeditated murder is harder to pardon, but crimes of passion are easier to ecuuuuse," Pansy teased with a singsong lilt in her voice. "Make it look like a modern day Romeo and Juliet – but make sure that you survive, Romeo. Or are you Juliet? Not that it would be easy to get away with murder, but really, I'll bet that your father –"

Draco gave an indignant squawk, which he would deny, as he turned on his heel and stormed out before Pansy could say more.

Really, it was best to leave before Pansy could really get going. A strategic retreat was a thousand times better than being subjected to Pansy's… quirky sense of humor.

With nothing better to do at the moment, Draco decided to track down that frustrating Gryffindor.

After a less-than-thorough search of the castle (Draco hadn't wanted to make it obvious that he was looking for someone), Draco figured he might as well take a quick walk around the grounds, just in case Potter was out there with his mangy mutt.

Hopefully, whenever Draco caught up to him, Potter would be alone, but if he wasn't, well, Draco had confidence that he could make it work.

Since aimlessly wandering around the grounds turned up no results, Draco decided to walk towards that oaf of a gamekeeper's ramshackle hut.

Draco would return to the castle if Potter wasn't around. He could always find the stupid Gryffindor tomorrow.

As it turned out, Draco did find who he was searching for. Potter was walking back up towards the castle, but, unfortunately, he wasn't alone.

With a grimace, Draco made his way towards Potter, determined to ignore the Weasel and the Mudblood that always seemed to be attached to Potter's side. Draco wiped the grimace off his face and settled his features into a blank mask once he noticed that the three Gryffindors had stopped and were warily watching his approach.

It was curious, though, Draco noted as he got closer to the three, that Potter's mutt wasn't at his side. Draco knew, well, everyone knew that Potter didn't go anywhere without that dog at his side. Perhaps the mutt was off making a nuisance of himself elsewhere on the grounds.

"Malfoy," Potter said, sounding distinctly put out.

"Potter," Draco returned the greeting, sounding just as annoyed. "I need a word."

"Like hell you do!" Weasley exclaimed. Draco thought that if he hadn't had that utterly disgusting rat in his hands, that the Weasel would've likely drawn his wand. "Go away, Malfoy!"

"I don't have time for whatever this is, Malfoy," Potter said, a lot more levelheaded than Weasley was.

Gritting his teeth, because really, did Potter have to be this difficult? Draco said, "I'm sure that you'll want to make time. After all, this concerns you. It would be… unpleasant if you were to ignore this any longer."

"Threatening us, Malfoy?" Hermione asked defensively, palming her wand and casually pointing it in Draco's direction. "How cute."

Draco purposefully positioned himself so that he was blocking their path and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at Potter with a slight smirk, daring Potter to ignore him.

"What. Is. It. Malfoy?" Well, didn't that just make Potter sound a bit constipated. It was always fun to get a reaction from Potter.

"Really, Potter, this is hardly fair – three on one? Why don't you send your," Draco sneered, "friends away? I assure you, it doesn't concern them."

"No, I don't think I will," Potter said defiantly, glaring at Draco. "Whatever it is you need to say, say it and leave. I – we – have places to be."

Realizing that Potter wasn't going to cooperate, Draco decided to be vague enough that it wouldn't be obvious, but Potter would be able to know what Draco was talking about. Really, it might be easier to try to discuss the favor that he owes Potter for the hippogriff incident some other time, but Potter had proven that he either forgot about it or elected to ignore it. And Draco didn't want this favor he owed Potter to continue to hang over his head for the summer and into the new school year in the fall. Draco would force Potter to name his favor tonight so that Draco could put this whole mess behind him and return to the fun sport of tormenting Potter in the fall.

"Surely you recall the… events… of Halloween night prior to the Black break in," Draco said rather than asked since he knew that Potter would remember.

"Yeah, you pulled me into an empty room to talk," Potter said, looking like he wanted to set Draco on fire.

Weasley went bug-eyed and it seemed that he was tightening his grip around that squirming rat in his hands. Granger glanced between Draco and Potter, looking shocked.

 _'Well, well, well… Looks like Potter didn't tell his friends after all.'_ Draco thought, feeling surprisingly smug. Of course, all feelings of smugness faded the moment Potter opened his mouth again.

"You said you owed me a favor or something."

 _'Really, Potter?! There's a thing called discretion!'_ Draco thought despairingly. The whole point of Draco being somewhat vague was so that this situation stayed between him and Potter. Draco hadn't wanted to involve the other two-thirds of the Scarhead Squad.

"A favor?" Weasley sounded absolutely delighted.

"What's this about, Harry?" Granger asked, turning to face Potter and looking concerned.

Draco resisted the urge to snarl and instead rolled his eyes, trying to play it off as if the favor wasn't a big deal. And really, it wasn't… it was just that… well, he did _owe_ Potter something. Draco was the Malfoy heir and he wouldn't let this potential favor go unresolved. He didn't want this to come up later and be blown out of proportion – as long as he could control the situation, it would just be a small favor (Potter pushing him out of the way of the hippogriff) for a small favor. A favor that Potter would decide tonight, or so help him…

He didn't like this anymore than Potter did, apparently, but Draco would tie up this loose end so that things could finally go back to normal.

...

"Look, Potter –"

Malfoy was interrupted when Ron shouted out in pain. Harry quickly looked over at Ron and saw that the rat had bit Ron hard enough to draw blood in its desperate attempt to escape.

"Don't let that rat go!" Harry commanded when it looked like Ron was loosening his grip.

The alarmed looks being shot in his direction made Harry quickly follow up his demand with a softer excuse of, "I wouldn't want you to lose Scabbers so soon after finding him again."

Although Hermione was still looking at Harry with concern, Ron seemed to accept it as he continued to struggle to keep a hold of the rat. Malfoy was still blocking their path, but he now had an indecipherable look on his face.

Harry just wanted Malfoy to leave because he really didn't have time for this. Ron was quite probably holding onto Peter Pettigrew and they needed to get the rat to Professor Lupin as soon as possible. Malfoy was throwing a wrench in his plans.

Somehow, Harry needed to quickly deal with Malfoy so that he, Hermione, and Ron could get the rat secured in Professor Lupin's hands before it escaped.

"Bloody hell!" Ron hissed in pain as the rat bit him again, but this time, Harry saw a possible reason why the rat was struggling so hard to escape.

Crookshanks had made an appearance.

The feline was meandering its way towards the four students. Crookshanks glowing eyes seemed to be locked on to the rat in Ron's hands

It was then that Hermione also noticed Crookshanks' slow advance.

"Oh no! Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed, before more gently saying, "Go! Go on – get out of here! Stay away from Scabbers!"

"Hermione! Your bloody cat's making this worse!" Ron accused, trying to tighten his grip on the thrashing rat in his hands.

"Well, I'm trying to get him to go, but yelling at me is not helping anything!" Hermione bit back.

Ron had to readjust his grip on Scabbers when the rat started struggling anew.

Malfoy was amused with the whole situation, if the smirk on his face was any indication.

Harry was just itching to knock Malfoy down a peg or two, but, unfortunately, that would waste time. And Harry needed to get the rat to Professor Lupin as soon as possible.

Just as Harry was about to tell Malfoy where he could stick his supposed favor and drag Ron and Hermione back up to the castle, he heard a loud growl.

A loud _familiar_ growl.

Malfoy whirled around faster than Harry could blink and took a step backwards, towards the three Gryffindors, in alarm. As Ron and Hermione stopped bickering to look further up the path, Hermione warily shifted a step closer to Ron. The rat in Ron's hands froze.

Stiffening, Harry directed his attention to the source of the growl.

All four students watched as Snuffles – _Sirius_ – threateningly prowled towards them, snarling with his teeth bared and ears back.

"Harry?" Hermione quietly and hesitantly questioned, looking very uneasy.

Ron grunted when the rat, now extremely panicked, began struggling for all its worth.

"Scabbers!" Ron frantically whispered. "Stop that!"

"Potter!" Malfoy hissed, glancing at Harry out of the corner of his eye, still facing the menacing form of Snuffles _._

Harry visibly hesitated.

Snuffles – no _Sirius, that was Sirius_ – was almost upon them

"Harry!" Hermione prompted. "Do something!"

"Si-Snuffles," Harry stumbled over the name before clearing his throat and trying again, "Snuffles, it's alright. Everything's under control. Don't… Don't do anything rash, Snuffles."

Harry was getting panicked looks from Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy because it was apparent that Snuf- _Sirius_ wasn't going to listen to Harry. The dog was still snarling and advancing towards them.

"It's okay, Snuffles," Harry called. "Calm down."

It was at that moment, that Hermione cried out in relief, "Professor Lupin!"

And indeed, there was Professor Lupin, looking a little out of breath as he came running down the path from the castle and towards them.

"Siri-Snuffles!" Professor Lupin cautioned, only having to slightly raise his voice as the professor was only a few meters away from the dog.

Snuffl- _Sirius_ jerked his head around to face Professor Lupin. Once the dog's attention was no longer on him, Scabbers made his escape. A third and final bite to the skin between the thumb and index finger on Ron's right hand caused Ron to drop the rat with a shocked exclamation.

Ron chased after the rat with Snuf- _Sirius_ hot on his heels. Harry was only a second or two behind Ron.

It barely registered to Harry as he was running that they were almost upon the Whomping Willow.

Ron dove and managed to catch the rat, but at that moment, Snuffl- _Sirius_ pounced forward, intent on attacking the rat.

Harry lurched forward and managed to grab ahold of Snu- _Sirius_ just before the dog could clamp his teeth around Ron's left leg. Snuf- _Sirius_ yelped as Harry tackled him to the side.

Harry could see that Professor Lupin had caught up to them and, after a moment or two, Hermione and Malfoy appeared behind Professor Lupin. All three of them had their wands out, although Hermione and Malfoy looked a bit confused and held their wands out to the side whereas Professor Lupin looked thunderous and had his wand pointed at Ron and the rat.

Just as Harry thought that maybe, with the rat firmly in Ron's hands and Snuffles – _Sirius_ – pinned down, just maybe things could calm down a bit, but Ron's muttered, "Damn it!" told Harry that things weren't quite over yet.

The rat managed to wiggle out of Ron's hands and run towards the Whomping Willow.

Seeing that the rat was on the move, Harry was unceremoniously tossed off of Snuffl- _Sirius_ ' back as the dog shook him off and gave chase.

Ron frantically ran after the rat and Harry ran after Ron, in pursuit of both the rat and Snuf- _Sirius,_ peripherally aware of the swinging branches of the Whomping Willow.

Harry was sure that either he or Ron was going to get brained by a branch of the Whomping Willow when the light of a spell flew right by him and struck a knob on the trunk of the tree, causing the branches of the Whomping Willow to suddenly freeze.

Looking back over his shoulder, Harry saw Professor Lupin with wand in his hand and his arm extended, obviously the one to have shot off the spell. Facing forwards once again, Harry saw Ron slide down through a hollow of the Whomping Willow and, not seeing the rat or Snuf- _Sirius_ , Harry assumed that they too had went down the hollow.

When Harry slid down the hollow mere seconds after Ron had, Harry saw that the hollow wasn't just a hole at the trunk of the tree, it was a passageway. Harry ran as fast as he could down the path, trying not to trip in the dark passage, and finally caught up to Ron.

From the sounds coming from behind them, Harry figured that Professor Lupin and Hermione had followed Ron and Harry into the passage.

Ron briefly paused at the end of the passageway, but Harry charged on through, a little shocked to finding himself inside a house. The building was in obvious disrepair and covered in layers of dust.

And when Harry saw the tracks in the dust, he picked up his pace to follow the trail.

As he was running up the stairs, Harry heard a scuffle – the sound of things breaking, claws catching on wood, and growling. With Ron right behind him, Harry slowed down a bit as he approached the room that the sounds of a struggle were coming from. The door to the room was hanging off of its hinges, so Harry had his wand out in front of him as he appeared in the doorway.

Which turned out to be a good thing, because the moment that Harry took a step into the room, the rat came charging at him, desperate to escape. In less time than it took to blink, Harry was firing off a stunner.

And it connected.

The rat was down.

With the rat stunned, Snuffl- _Sirius_ leaped on top of the rat, looking like he was about to bite the rat's head off; so, for the second time that night, Harry tackled Snuf- _Sirius_.

Harry was pretty sure that Snu- _Sirius_ let Harry tackle him, because Snuff- _Sirius_ was a rather large and heavy dog.

Snuffles – _Sirius, damn it!_ – curled around Harry rather than try to pounce on the rat again. Since Sn- _Sirius_ was staying put, Harry kept a good grip on Snuf- _Sirius'_ scruff (just in case) and looked away from the dog and over to the stunned rat.

It turned out that Ron had picked up the rat when Harry had been occupied with keeping Sirius from committing murder.

"Why did you stun Scabbers?" Ron asked sounding slightly angry.

"Because that rat is extremely dangerous," Professor Lupin answered for Harry as he appeared behind Ron in the doorway.

"What?!" Ron asked, cradling the rat protectively as he was forced to step aside to let Professor Lupin enter the room. "Scabbers isn't dangerous!"

Professor Lupin had his wand pointed at the rat in Ron's hands.

"What's really going on here, Professor? Harry?" Hermione asked, sounding uneasy as she followed Professor Lupin into the room as well.

Harry was honestly surprised to see Malfoy appear from behind Hermione. Malfoy stayed in the doorway, not yet entering the room and seeming to ignore Crookshanks who was winding himself around Malfoy's feet.

Crookshanks left Malfoy and came to sit next to Snuf- _Sirius._

The dog beneath Harry's grip shifted and then transformed. Suddenly Harry was off-balance and falling forward; he was still on his knees, but falling to the side. A grip on Harry's elbow kept him from face planting.

Looking up to see who kept him from ending up face down on the floor, Harry was once again looking into the face of Sirius Black.

"We've finally caught him!" Sirius crowed, sounding slightly manic in his excitement.

Harry slowly stood up, still not quite sure what to do or how to act around Sirius, but remained by Sirius' side since Sirius still had a light grip on Harry's arm. Thinking back to how Sirius kept insisting that he wanted to protect Harry, Harry figured that Sirius didn't want him to get any closer to the rat in Ron's hands – which is probably why Sirius hadn't let go of Harry yet.

"Holy shit, Black's going to kill Potter," Malfoy whispered, barely audible as he fell back against the doorframe in shock.

"If you want to kill Harry, you're going to have to kill us too!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing her wand at Sirius.

"Don't lump me in with you suicidal fools!" Malfoy hissed at Hermione desperately, keeping a white knuckled grip on his own wand. "I'm not dying for Potter!"

"Let him go!" Ron shouted, cradling the rat in one hand while pointing his wand at Sirius with his other hand. "We won't let you have Harry without a fight!

"Only one will die tonight!" Sirius dramatically stated as Ron, Hermione, and surprisingly Malfoy's faces drained of color.

Harry realized that he needed to do something. Ron and Hermione didn't know the whole story and Sirius was being entirely unhelpful with the things he was saying and the way he was acting. So, Harry elbowed Sirius in the gut, causing Sirius to release a shocked exhale of air.

"You sound insane and you're scaring my friends," Harry muttered in explanation as he remained by Sirius' side. Sirius stared down at him in confusion for a moment before his eyes lit up with understanding.

Harry could've ran over to stand by his friends after he elbowed Sirius, but he was afraid that that might've made Sirius lunge after him. Since he was so overprotective as a dog, Harry didn't know how Sirius was going to react as he was a man. Figuring that it would be better for everyone at the moment, Harry resolved to stay by Sirius' side until this whole rat situation was over.

When everything was over, then…

Well, Harry didn't know what he was going to do about Sirius. Right now, he had to focus on more important problems – like Ron's rat being Peter Pettigrew.

Hermione looked to be getting ready to shoot off a spell at Sirius when Professor Lupin disarmed her, Ron, and Malfoy with a flick of his wand.

"Yes, Sirius, we've caught him," Professor Lupin calmly agreed with Sirius' previous statement.

Ron made a sound like he just swallowed his tongue.

"You… You traitor!" Hermione shrieked at Professor Lupin. "I kept your secret for you because I thought you were one of the good guys! But you're not – you're with Black! I should've exposed you as werewolf long ago!"

"Werewolf?" Malfoy whispered through gritted teeth, his eyes wide with fear.

That was something that Harry hadn't been expecting at all. Professor Lupin was a werewolf?

"I was able to deduce your nature as a werewolf from seeing your Boggart turn into the moon," Hermione continued, "and from noting that you were out sick during each month's full moon!"

Professor Lupin looked at Hermione with a wry twist to his lips.

"You really are quite clever, Hermione, the brightest witch of your age," Professor Lupin commended. "Yes, I am a werewolf, but there's more to the tale of Sirius Black than you know."

"What? That you helped him? That you are helping him right now?!" Ron accused.

"Oh let's just take him and be done with this!" Sirius exclaimed. "The longer we draw this out, the more chances there are that he could escape or someone will interfere."

"No! We won't let you!" Hermione balled up her fists at her side

"You're not taking Harry!" Ron yelled, his face turning red in anger.

"Harry? We're not… What?!" Sirius looked over at Harry as if Harry had the answers. Harry just glared at Sirius in return.

Sounding exasperated, Professor Lupin said, "Sirius, stop. You're just confusing them. Let me briefly explain what's going on and then we can finish this."

"No!" Hermione denied. "Why should we trust what you say? You've been helping him!" Hermione pointed at Sirius.

"I –"

But Ron didn't let Professor Lupin get a word in edgewise.

"Hermione's right!" Ron said. "You –"

Harry tuned out the argument that was happening between Ron, Hermione, and Professor Lupin. Well, it was less of an argument and more of Ron and Hermione talking over Professor Lupin's explanations. Instead, Harry turned his attention to the lone Slytherin in the room.

Malfoy remained quiet from his position in the doorway. Harry didn't know why Malfoy was sticking around because he thought for sure that the Slytherin would've turned tail and ran by now. But Malfoy stayed where he was, his eyes flitting from person to person as he observed the interactions between Sirius and everyone else.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry when she realized that he'd been maintaining a wall of stony silence ever since it had been revealed that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. Harry knew that if he'd been in the dark as much as his friends were about what was going on, he'd be shouting his head off and demanding Sirius' death. So, yes, Harry knew that his silence was unusual.

"What's going on Harry?" Hermione asked quietly, interrupting an accusation that Ron was hurling at Professor Lupin. "You know something or else you wouldn't be standing so calmly by your parents' betrayer. You should be furious!"

Sirius made a wounded sound at Harry's side. Harry didn't want to get into this right now – he was still having trouble processing it himself – but it looked like he had no choice but to talk about it, to explain it to his friends. They deserved an explanation, especially considering the circumstances that had led them all to this point.

"Oh, I was," Harry said, sounding worryingly blank. He was determined not to let his anger get the best of him, so he'd try to remain as calm as he could. "But Professor Lupin is right. There is much more to this than you know. I only found out about all of it about an hour ago."

"So you knew he was a werewolf too?" Hermione asked.

"Well, no, I didn't know that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, but really, is that what we're going to focus on right now?" Harry asked slightly irritated.

"Harry? Why don't you come stand over here with us," Hermione gently coaxed, trying to get Harry away from Sirius.

"Sirius isn't going to hurt me –"

"You don't know that!" Ron interjected, worried about Harry's safety.

"Yes, I do!" Harry snapped, before taking a deep breath when he realized that he just defended Sirius to his friends. "Sorry. It's just… let me explain."

And so Harry did.

As Harry was telling his friends, and Malfoy, about how Professor Lupin called him to his office, how Professor Lupin told him his theory about Snuffles being Sirius Black, and how Professor Lupin believed that Sirius wasn't the one who betrayed Harry's parents, Professor Lupin took that time to return Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy's wands to them.

Harry told them about the Marauder's Map and how he saw Peter Pettigrew's name on it one night and about how Professor Lupin believes Pettigrew to be the actual betrayer. Harry explained that his father, Sirius, and Peter were all animagi.

It was then that both Ron and Hermione interrupted Harry.

"I don't believe it!" Ron denied, still carefully holding onto the rat. "There's no way that Scabbers in an animagus! He's been in my family for –"

"Twelve years?" Sirius smoothly interjected. "A suspiciously long life for a common house rat, wouldn't you say?" Sirius asked, sounding saner than he previously had, which Harry was grateful for.

"So?!" Ron asked defensively. "That – that doesn't mean that Scabbers is that man – Peter Pettigrew!"

"I had about the same reaction that you're having, Ron," Harry said. "When Professor Lupin was trying to convince me that Snuffles was Sirius Black. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes."

"But there have only been seven registered animagi over the century," Hermione pointed out. "How could your father and two of his friends be animagi?"

"Well, they were unregistered," Professor Lupin admitted ruefully. "They became animagi to keep me company here in the Shrieking Shack, during the full moon, without placing themselves in danger."

"But you're a werewolf," Ron insisted. "Why'd Professor Dumbledore let you back here to teach?! You might not be a danger to animals, but you're a danger to people! And there are a lot of other people living in Hogwarts right now – your students, for example!"

Professor Lupin slumped a bit at Ron's accusation.

"Severus brews a revolutionary potion – Wolfsbane – that allows me to keep my mind during my transformation, thus I remain harmless," Professor Lupin explained, sounding discouraged that his student still saw him as a threat.

"Lupin's right," Malfoy spoke up, suddenly reminding everyone that he was still there. Malfoy looked straight at Harry and then, without moving his head, he glanced out of the door and then back to Harry twice – almost as if he was trying to tell Harry something. "I've read about the Wolfsbane potion and Professor Snape would be one of the only potion masters who could brew it without messing it up. When brewed properly, the potion will make werewolves relatively harmless on the full moon. But it's an extraordinarily complex potion to brew."

Suddenly Professor Lupin was thrown back with the force of a spell and tied up.

"Indeed it is, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said as he appeared in the doorway next to Malfoy, pointing his wand at Sirius with a sneer. "This is quite a curious little gathering that you've found yourself a part of."

...

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Ta da! I'm back! And I decided to make this chapter long since I made you guys wait for it for so long (especially since I left you with a cliffhanger ending on the previous chapter).

Also, my updates are going to be slow – like a hell of a lot slower than before. Maybe once a month or so? I don't really know yet.

Why will the updates be so freakin' slow? Because my life has gotten a bit out-of-control and I don't know when it'll settle back down again (meaning: I'm trying to find employment, trying to get to know the area since I just moved, and trying to make some new friends since I know literally no one in the area yet). The time I once had to dedicate to writing is pretty much gone. The time I now have for writing is next to nothing. So – I will continue updating this fic until it's complete, but, like I said, the updates will be ever so slow. Sorry about that.

Specific references/things in the chapter that might need a bit of clarification:

Elizabeth being able to tell Gregory about the cover up – So, the confidentiality contracts and stuff that she had to sign only prevented her from telling people who didn't already know about Black's lack of trial. The Minister was overconfident in thinking that Elizabeth only consulted with other Ministry employees (because where else would she get any relevant information?) and since Elizabeth is already under a general non-disclosure agreement for her position as Madam Bones' assistant, it never crossed the Minister's mind that Elizabeth would even consider telling anyone else about Black's lack of trial – especially since Elizabeth (purposefully to protect Greg) made it seem like she did everything by herself and immediately reported her findings to Madam Bones. So the Minister thinks everyone who knows about the lack of trial is unable to talk/write/communicate-in-anyway about it.

When Harry and Professor Lupin are talking and Harry says "Try the other leg" that's in reference to the saying of "someone pulling your leg".

Why didn't Remus capture the rat before they made it to the passageway that's under the Whomping Willow? – Remus, rather than shooting a spell at the rat, hits the knob on the tree to freeze the branches because he hadn't wanted to accidently hit Ron or Harry. Also, Remus didn't want anyone to get his by the viciously flying branches of the Whomping Willow.

If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, it's because I only proofread this once because I was eager to get it out to you all as soon as I could – I didn't want to make you wait any longer!

And I always appreciate any comments/reviews you leave!


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